Scofield Standard Time
by Kit Merlot
Summary: AU: Chloe's mom is locked in a mental institution where inmates are mysteriously dying, so Chloe decides to help her escape. Will her plan succeed? And how does Lex Luthor fit into the plan? Read and find out :
1. Chapter 1

Title: Scofield Standard Time  
Author: Kathy  
Rating: T for violence  
Pairings: Chlex friendship/partners in crime  
Category: Action/Adventure  
Spoilers: Episode 14 "Tomb", and the last thirteen episodes of Prison Break.  
Summary: Chloe attempts her own prison break to save her mother and herself.  
Disclaimer: This story is strictly for fun and no profit. I don't own any of the characters or ideas from Smallville or Prison Break.  
A/N: After reading the spoilers for "Tomb," I was inspired by the sheer brilliance of Prison Break to make Chloe more Michael Scofield-esque, and this is what came to me. You don't have to be a fan of PB to read this fic, but please know that I will be borrowing names, and prison slang from the show. And most importantly, this is not a crossover. And, as always, please tell me what you think.

Prologue

She's not like them.

At least, that is what Chloe tells herself as she walks around the yard of the mental institution.

She is not like them. She is going to college, and has a bright future ahead of herself. Her life is not defined by what the prison doctor writes on her chart, or when she receives her medication.

She looks at the other inmates wandering around in the bright sunshine, and she pities them for their vacant facial expressions, and drooling, gaping mouths. She tells herself that her mind is still intact, and that she is in full control of all of her bodily functions.

But then she is forced to admit to herself that she has willingly chosen to have herself locked away in a mental hospital, and she begins to fear that this fact alone might make her the sickest person in this god forsaken place.

When the idea first came to her, she had conveniently ignored the more frightening aspects of what she was actually undertaking, and now with all of the bleakness surrounding her, she wonders why she thought this would be easy.

She doesn't have much hope to cling to, but she still has some tricks up her sleeve. And she intuitively know that she is still of sound mind and body.

She will not acknowledge the unspoken part of that statement, the silent "for now," because that thought would virtually paralyze her, and she needs to be focused and ready at all times.

She can, however, admit to herself that her mother's insanity is the ghost that haunts her every thought, waking and dreaming. She swears to herself that she will not lose her mind, and end up like her mother.

Even though she knows that she has virtually no control over the matter.

And, sometimes, at night, her mother's voice comes to her, whispering that she will die in this place, alone and insane.

Chloe Sullivan looks across the asylums' lawn, and towards where her mother stands, surrounded by guards, and she thinks about her plan.

She lifts her face up to the spring sunshine, and vows that she will get her mother out of this hospital for the criminally insane, if it is the last thing she ever does.

Which, with how the escape was going thus far, it just might be.

Chapter 1

Chloe's first day at the Fox River Sanitarium for the Criminally Insane was spent in a padded room.

Before the doctors could even begin to evaluate her mental status, she had to be placed on a 24 hour suicide watch. When Chloe was wheeled into Fox River, she had been covered in gasoline and about to light herself on fire.

The fire department had been called in because a young, blonde girl was reported to have been standing on a street corner in the middle of a busy Metropolis block, and dousing herself with a liquid, and screaming that she was "going to burn it right out of her "

The young girl was said to have had matches in her hand, and she had been attempting to light one, but her hands had been shaking so badly she couldn't seem to manage it.

The fire department was not only concerned for the young girl, but also the other pedestrians and businesses on the street itself, because she was standing right in front of the Metropolis Gas Company. If she managed to light one of her matches, she could not only take out herself, but also several city blocks.

The fire chief took immediate action, and directed his crew to distract the girl while he soaked a blanket with water. Moving quickly, he managed to cover the troubled young woman with the wet blanket, and had her taken to Fox River.

Chloe had stayed perfectly still when she was carried into the ambulance, because she realized that any sudden movements on her part would have ended with her being tied into a straight-jacket and shot full of sedatives.

When the ambulance pulled up to Fox River, Chloe figured that the orderlies would be wary of her being violent, so again, she kept her calm, and was carried into a padded room, and left there.

Once she was left in the room, Chloe took a deep breath and tried to relax herself. She was grateful that the hospital staff hadn't tried to change her into a prison uniform, because she needed to be left in her own clothes. That would make things much easier for her. When the time came for her to act on her plan, that is.

But above all else, Chloe knew that she had to maintain her careful facade of mental derangement. She needed to be believable enough to convince the staff at Fox River, but she couldn't act so far out of touch with reality that she could risk getting drugged into oblivion.

She also wanted to have the other inmates afraid of her, but she didn't want them so terrified that no one would come near her.

But the first part of her plan was executed: she had gotten herself inside the prison, and the next thing she had to do was find her mother.

And she wondered how long it would be before the orderlies discovered that she had poured vinegar all over herself, and not gasoline.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"Chloe's been locked up at Fox River."

An uncomfortable silence filled the room, as its three occupants tried not to look each other in the face. The knowledge about what happened to Chloe hung in the air between them, but no one could quite bear to admit the truth.

A full minute passed before the original speaker had the courage to try to start a conversation again.

Clark Kent glanced around the room, as though he was afraid of being overheard. He paused to clear his throat, and then pitched his voice a bit lower than his normally loud voice.

"Chloe tried to kill herself last week, and the judge ordered her to be placed in a mental hospital, pending evaluation. And the place that the judge picked was Fox River. Fox River, Lex! You know what kind of reputation that it has."

Lex Luthor, like most Kansans, read of the mysterious deaths that had allegedly happened at the institution that housed Metropolis' criminally insane prisoners, but the stories were only printed in the Inquisitor, so most people read the firsthand accounts with a grain of salt.

Now if a legitimate newspaper like The Daily Planet where to get actual verification of the supposed experiments that would be an entirely different matter.

Lex's mind drifted to the last time he had seen Gabe Sullivan, which had been two days ago. The man had looked haunted, but never asked for Lex to intervene, so Lex was surprised at Clark's presumptiveness, no matter how good the cause.

Clark continued to speak, "Her own father doesn't even have a say about where she was placed because she's over eighteen, but I know that he would want her in a hospital closer to Smallville."

Clark paused again, and Lex resisted the urge to roll his eyes, and ask Clark to speak a little louder. Instead he looked up at his former friend, and spoke words that he knew Clark wouldn't want to hear.

"I'm sorry to hear about your friend's troubles, but I don't quite see how I can help."

Before Clark could even open his mouth, another voice interrupted. "Lex, Chloe needs help getting out of that place. She clearly doesn't belong there, and you're the only one with enough pull to get anything done."

Lois paused in consideration, but she started talking just as quickly when she saw that Lex was about to try and interrupt her. "And for God sake's, after everything she's done for you, THIS is how you repay her?"

Lex's jaw clenched, but he fought to keep his anger under control, and his expression neutral. "I do admire how staunchly you're defending your cousin, Lois, but there is obviously a reason the authorities saw fit to place Chloe's in the sanitarium. And for the record, what is between Miss Sullivan and I is none of your concern. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have work to do."

He could hear Lois mutter, "Asshole," under her breath, but she moved towards the door of the study. She seemed anxious to leave, and her attitude conveyed that she clearly thought that coming to see the son of Lionel Luthor, and asking for his help, was a monumental waste of time.

But Clark was determined to stand his ground, and normally Lex would have been proud that the he was finally showing some backbone, but unfortunately, this was neither the time, nor the place for it.

"Lex, I know that you and Chloe aren't exactly close, but after what happened to you at Belle Reve..."

From the moment that Clark first started to speak, Lex let his mind wander. He knew that Clark would try to manipulate him into helping with whatever had happened to Chloe, and he would use whatever weapons he could in order to get his own way.

Throwing Lex's own shaky mental history in his face was not a moral dilemma for Clark, because in the end, he could justify that he was just trying to help his friend.

Never mind what happened to Lex in the process.

Lex tried to clear his mind, and concentrated on the situation involving Chloe instead, because he knew, as sure as he was sitting there, that Chloe was no more mentally ill then he was.

He remembered the last conversation that he had with Chloe, which ironically enough, had taken place three months ago in this very study.

He could tell that there was something off about her, because she didn't have her same sparkling smile or witty retort. She had looked tense, and was worriedly twisting her fingers together.

Lex recognized the signs, because he had seen them enough when Chloe had been in hiding during his father's trial.

She was deeply worried about something, but more than that, Chloe was afraid. And he knew from experience that when Chloe was terrified of something, it just made her dig her feet in deeper, determined to overcome it.

Lex had been half tempted to ask Chloe what was troubling her, but something stopped him, or rather, someone. He and Chloe didn't have their same close friendship, because they had allowed Clark Kent to come between them.

He knew that she was helping to hide Clark's secret from him. Lex didn't have any proof, but he knew it just the same. And Chloe was actively working against him, trying to protect Clark.

Both Chloe and Lex realized that a line had been drawn between them during the second meteor shower, and that they now stood on either side of that line, glaring at each other. Open warfare had never been declared, but they were more adversarial then friendly.

The warmth and camaraderie was gone, and in its place stood suspicion and resentment. His respect for her was still there, but he couldn't deny that he was angry that she had so easily turned her back on their bond in favor of her friendship with Clark.

Which made Chloe's appearance in his study that much more intriguing.

He stared at her a full minute before she even acknowledged his walking into the room, and then she didn't bother to greet him, but instead asked him a rather surprising question.

"Has Luthorcorp ever funded any research at Fox River Sanatorium?"

Lex had been stunned at Chloe's abrupt question, but had answered her readily. "Luthorcorp has never funded research in any type of mental facility."

Chloe had smiled grimly, and spoke in a tone so quiet that Lex had to lean forward to hear her properly. "That was what I was afraid of."

He could feel his patience waning, and he practically snapped at her, "Chloe, what the hell are you talking about?"

Lex was shaken out of his thoughts by the shrill voice of Lois Lane. "Forget it, Smallville, Lex hasn't heard a word you said. He was probably dreaming about his money."

Clark shot Lois an imploring look, and then turned the exact same expression on Lex. "Please, you have to help Chloe. You are her only hope."

Lex sighed, but he still tried to explain the situation has gently as he could. "Clark, I really don't see what I can do for Miss Sullivan. Her well being is in the hands of the courts and the mental health professionals. Nothing else can be done."

All pretense of geniality disappeared from Clark's face when he heard Lex's words. "Why am I not surprised that you're refusing to help anyone else? It's always Lex's needs first, and everyone else's second."

Clark shook his head in disgust and walked towards the study door for his parting shot. "If you don't change, you'll always be alone."

Clark's final words were still floating in the air when Lex had snatched up his phone, and told his assistant to "send Vlad in."  
Clark and Lois were dumfounded when a muscular, six foot, five, two hundred and eighty pound Romanian entered Lex's study from a side door.

"Vlad," Lex greeted his bodyguard amiably, "please show the muffin peddler and the farmboy to the door. They are no longer welcome in my home."

Lex tried not to grin in satisfaction at seeing the shocked dismay on Lois and Clark's face. He didn't have time to justify his attitude to them, especially with Chloe so obviously needing help.

He knew better than either of them the lengths that Chloe was willing to go to when she thought that she was right.

And from their conversation the three months before, Chloe Sullivan knew that she was right about the sinister happenings at Fox River.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Dr. Kristin Bellick had the charts of all of the new inmates at Fox River brought to her so she could review them thoroughly. Dr. Bellick took pride in the work they did at the asylum, and she only wanted the best for the prisoners in her care.

Even though she was a woman in her forties, Dr. Bellick had never lost any of her youthful enthusiasm towards psychiatry, but years spent in a penitentiary did stunt her optimism. Dr. Bellick was now a realist, and she knew that keeping the more violent offenders drugged was the only way to keep them under control, but she preferred to use a combination of anti-depressants and anti-psychotics along with therapy.

She also believed in the prisoners being allowed ample time in the yard, because fresh air and sunshine did wonders for everyone's mental health, and not just the inmates. She made sure that all of the hospital's staff had plenty of yard time, and that her door was open if they ever needed to talk.

Dr. Bellick knew that she was fortunate that Fox River had a good hearted warden, who believed in many of the same ideals that she did. Warden Bradley Hale was what some of the older staff doctors derisively referred to as a "bleeding heart liberal", but Kristin Bellick was grateful that there was at least one other person behind these walls who didn't want all of the inmates in straight jackets 24 hours a day..

Dr. Bellick had been a psychiatrist for the last twenty years, and she had been working at the sanitarium for the past ten years, and while they had made great strides, they still had a long way to go to completely upgrade their mental facility. And thankfully, the warden agreed with her ideas on improved patient care wholeheartedly.

Now, all she had to do was get the other staff member to get their mindsets into the 21st century, especially the orderlies. She had, on more than one occasion, seen the same orderly trying to overmedicate the more troublesome patients.

Dr. Bellick made a mental note to ask the warden to have a talk with the young man, as she took her customary seat near the garden. She liked to sit off to the side so that she was close enough to observe the patients and staff, but far enough away to not be a distraction

She sorted through her files, and paged through the new patients quickly. It never failed to amaze her how similar the inmate's personal histories were, and how many of the same characteristics they all shared as well.

The doctor didn't see anything unusual until she got to Chloe Sullivan's file. She stopped and studied the picture that accompanied the new inmate's chart, and she was struck by how pretty the blond young woman was, and that she had such a lively expression on her face. Most of the people who were brought in looked dazed, and half-dead.  
Dr. Bellick read through the information provided on Chloe Sullivan, and she found herself even more intrigued. The young woman simply didn't fit the profile of an inmate at Fox River. Ms. Sullivan had never been in trouble with the law in any capacity, and she didn't have any type of juvenile record. She was a college student, who was also a cub reporter at The Daily Planet.

Chloe Sullivan was raised by a single parent, her father, and Dr. Bellick noted that the space where her mother's information should have been was left blank. Perhaps this was a reason for the sudden deterioration in Chloe's mental health. But the doctor did not want to jump to conclusions before speaking to the girl, so she made another note to ask Chloe herself about this lapse.

In fact, the more Dr. Bellick read about Chloe, the more she became convinced that there was more to this young woman then what was recorded on her chart. Again, she knew it was not wise to form any judgments, but there was a reason Chloe was here. She was clearly very troubled, and would probably need a lot of coaxing to get to the root of why she had tried to kill herself.

Nodding her head, Dr. Bellick closed the file that she had been reading on Chloe Sullivan and vowed to help the girl anyway she could.

Chloe knew that what she was doing was the very definition of crazy, but she also knew that she had to get her mom out of Fox River. Yes, her mom was mentally ill, but she also needed better care then she was likely to get in this particular facility. Especially after Chloe had learned about the myriad of mysterious deaths that had plagued the prison for the past ten years.

She didn't regret making this decision, but she did hate that she had to involve so many other people in her plan. Lois, Clark and Lex all knew pieces of what Chloe's plan was, but only her dad knew the entire thing.

When she first broached her idea to him, he hadn't spoken to her for the rest of the night. He had been so angry and terrified that his couldn't stop his hands from trembling, but at the same time, he was fiercely proud that his daughter would go to such lengths to help someone she thought was in danger.

Gabe tried his best to get past his fears, and think as rationally as Chloe obviously had, so he came to her the next day, armed with questions. Unsurprisingly, Chloe had all of her research laid out for him on their kitchen table, and together, father and daughter went over all of the information she had uncovered in the last three months.

He was still afraid for her, but he did feel better knowing that Chloe had involved Lex Luthor in the escape, as well as her cousin and Clark Kent. While he knew that Lois and Clark's hearts were in the right place, they both lacked discipline. Lex, on the other hand, was a person who could be relied on to keep calm in any given situation.

Chloe was also calm under pressure, so they made a good team. Unfortunately, she was also becoming a bit Machiavellian, because she had set it up that neither Lex or her cousin or Clark actually knew the full extent of what she was planning. She deliberately kept them in the dark, and only told them what they needed to know to be worried enough about her to work together, and hopefully, realize that Chloe had been up to something, and decide to work together.

Gabe knew that Lois and Clark would be concerned, but he couldn't help but feel that it would be Lex who would figure things out first. After all, he was a brilliant strategist, and Gabe knew that Chloe had been influenced by Lex's attention to detail when she thought up her escape plan.

But as for the three of them working together, Gabe had his doubts, but if Chloe felt it could be done, he would give her the time she requested.

Gabe was not ashamed to admit that he liked the idea of someone as powerful and influential as Lex being on Chloe's side. If it came down to it, he would need someone with enough power to cut through any red tape thrown at them when the time came to get Chloe and her mom released. If the plan went wrong, that is.

And Gabe believed in preparing for the worst, because for all of Chloe's meticulous planning, any part of her escape could easily go awry, and Gabe was not about to let Chloe rot in an insane asylum.

Not when it wasn't her time to anyway.

Chloe's plan brought all of Gabe's secret worries, and his biggest worry was that not only would he have lost his wife to insanity, but also his little girl. The thought was enough to give him plenty of sleepless nights, but to now know that Chloe was locked up in a sanitarium, well Gabe was now relying on No Doze to get through his days.

Gabe had done his best to protect Chloe from her mother's mental illness, but his wife had taken care of it for him. She divorced Gabe, and then promptly turned her back on Chloe, preferring to pretend that she didn't have a daughter.

At first, Gabe had been furious, until he discovered that Chloe's mom had entered into therapy, and that she couldn't have contact with any family members. But, her illness was too far gone, and it was not long before she was permanently confined to an asylum.

Gabe refused to think about Chloe's chances of inheriting her mother's insanity. He choose to think about the bright future that Chloe had ahead of her, and he knew that he wouldn't get a proper nights rest until Chloe was out of that place, and back with him, living the life she was supposed to.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Ordinarily, it would have worried Chloe how relatively easy it was for her to get her hands on the blueprints for a prison, but she was just grateful that she didn't have to waste too much energy in acquiring them.

Fox River had been a haven for the mentally ill since the early 1900's, when it first opened its doors as an almshouse. It didn't become a prison hospital for the criminally insane until the 1960's, and even then, hardly any changes were made to the architecture of the place.

The prison was made up of four, connecting buildings that formed a square, which enclosed a lawn. The structure was reminiscent of a medieval castle, and it didn't exactly inspire a peaceful feeling.

Instead, when Chloe saw pictures of the place, she had been filled with fear, and for a second, she had been tempted to forget that Fox River ever existed.

But that lasted for another second, because instead of seeing pictures of the prison, she remembered what the news reports said about the mysterious deaths that none of the prison official seemed too concerned about.

Chloe smiled grimly, because there was no way in hell she would ever leave her mother to die in that place so that meant that the mission was on.

In 1990, The Kansas Department of Corrections deemed that Fox River needed an upgrade to its security system. So, structural engineers were sent inside to get measurements of the whole building, including the crawlspaces in the ceiling, and the sewer tunnels that ran underneath the prison.

The design for the new and improved security system had to be submitted to the state, and the plans for the restructuring on the outside building also had to be approved for zoning by the county.

And hacking into county records was a lot easier then trying to gain access to the state's. Once Chloe had the copies of the blue prints in her hands, her plan became easier to visualize, and it didn't take her long to locate the prison's least secure areas.

Chloe focused on the crawl spaces in the ceiling, and the underground tunnels, figuring that this would be the easiest way for to move through the prison undetected.

So when she discovered the tunnel that connected the kitchen to the sewer, she knew that this was going to be her escape route.

Chloe stood to the side of the common room in Ward A, and tried to hide her shock at what was happening around her.

The room had been quiet, but then pandemonium broke out as her fellow inmates expressed their dismay that there wasn't to be any butterscotch pudding for tonight's dessert, because the cook hadn't had time to prepare it.

Two burly looking orderlies stood next to the nurse who was trying to get all of the women's attention. The men didn't look like they were about to take any nonsense from anyone in the room, and the woman looked rather formidable, too.

The nurse who made the announcement was in her late thirties, and she appeared to be in good physical condition. Her name was Robin Tancredi, and she looked to be a bit of a brawler. But even as this obviously tough woman delivered the news, she had looked worried.

Apparently, as Chloe soon discovered, Ward A really enjoyed Butterscotch Pudding Thursdays.

She jumped when the first person started to scream, but soon, half the women in the room had joined her. And then others started to cry, but the majority of the women began to shout out nonsensical threats.

Chloe tried to hide her amazement when a usually docile woman stood on a chair and pointed dramatically at the nurse, and said, "I swear to God, I'm going to talk to the governor about this!"

Chloe's surprise turned into a sick form of amusement, as she watched other women stand up and threaten the nurse, too.

But the nurse, Miss Tancredi as she insisted on being called, remained stoic in the face of all of this anger being directed towards her, and Chloe gave her credit for keeping her cool.

A woman who bore the unmistakable look of an aging Southern belle, glared at the nurse and declared, "You best be stepping before I take a switch to you!"

The implacable looking nurse smiled calmly, and appeared to be waiting out the women. Chloe couldn't help but notice that the nurse kept a safe distance back from the agitated crowd, but she was within an arms reach of her house phone.

Miss Tancredi was apparently willing to let her patients shriek like banshees, but she was not about to allow any violence.

And this, Chloe decided, was a good thing, as she lost sight of the nurse when a woman in her late fifties yelled out: "When's the Mummer's Day Parade? I've been practicing my strut all year. Who wants to see it?"

She didn't know whether she should laugh or cry, so at first, Chloe had just stood there, almost shocked into place. But her shock wore off quickly, and Chloe decided to take Miss Tancredi's example and ride the mayhem out safely. She tried to make herself as invisible as possible, as she crouched down, and did her best to blend in with the wall.

An elderly lady, who had been sitting quietly in her chair crocheting a scarf, suddenly climbed to her feet. "Goddamnit! There's only one other place that has better tasting butterscotch pudding , and that's at the Receiving Station on Norfolk, Virginia!"

Chloe closed her eyes, and thought back to when she had thought that breaking her mom out had been a good plan. She had been in Fox River for two weeks, and she hadn't even come close to talking to her mom.

Instead, she was stuck in a room with a bunch of raving lunatics, freaking out about pudding.

Chloe shook her head roughly, and started her daily pep talk. "Suck it up, Sullivan! You're goal is to find Mom and get her out. Ignore the psychos and focus!"

She was so intent on her inner monologue that she had failed to notice that one of the orderlies had been silently watching her. He stood on the other side of the common room, and just stared at her. He had watched Chloe's reaction to the chaos the entire time, and he made a mental note to himself to find out about the new inmate.

A/N: The Mummer's Day Parade is a parade that take place's in Philadelphia on New Year's Day. There is also a weird little dance that the people wearing the costumes do that is called "The Mummer's strut." I have provided a link for anyone who is crazy enough, I mean curious enough to what to know more:


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Lois stood by the Talon's cappachino machine, and tried to be as unobtrusive as possible. Lex Luthor had just made his grand entrance and she was determined to watch him to try to figure out exactly why Chloe seemed to trust him as implicitly as she did.

Lois didn't see the attraction, because Lex seemed like a typical spoiled rich boy to her, but he did have a vast intelligence that also included a smugness and sense of entitlement that Lois couldn't abide.

Lois smiled grimly to herself, because she could hear Chloe's voice taunting her that the reason she wanted to get back at Lex was because he had hurt her feelings. True, being referred to as a muffin peddler was not pleasant, but she had so many other reasons to dislike Lex.

She just couldn't think of any of them at the moment.

It took her a minute to realize that Chloe might have been right all along. Yes, it was not a secret that Lois and the billionaire tycoon didn't get along, but she was truthful enough with herself to admit that most of the animosity was fueled by her.

Lex just responded to her contempt, with his own brand of disgust.

This was a humbling thought, and one that Lois didn't welcome, because then she would have to admit that she and Clark's rudeness might have jeopardized Chloe's getting out of Fox River in one piece.

When she and Clark paid their visit to Lex's home, she had promised herself to simply deliver Chloe's message, but then she saw how coolly he had questioned Clark about why he was telling him about Chloe's misfortune, and Lois had lost it.

Her cousin was clearly relying on this guy to help her, and he didn't seem the least bit interested or concerned.

Lois didn't know Chloe's full plan, mainly because Chloe refused to tell her more than she needed to know, but she knew that Chloe had to be half-insane to have even thought of it in the first place.

Still, Chloe was family, and Lois had told her that the only people she needed to rely on were she and Gabe. She might have given in to Clark's being in on the plan, but that was only because Clark seemed to have a knack for being in the wrong place at the right time. And even with that as a reason, Lois was reluctant to trust Clark. He had let her cousin down too many times to count.

But Clark was definitely preferable to Lex Luthor.

Chloe had listened to Lois' suggestion, and then she smiled gratefully at her cousin, as she began to speak. She understood where Lois was coming from, but she would need all of her friends' help, especially Lex's, and when the time came, she expected Lois to give Lex the message she had asked her to.

So, Lois had no other choice, but to do as Chloe wanted, and to hope and pray that Chloe wasn't wrong for placing her trust in him.

And Lois also hoped that she and Clark hadn't ruined any chance of getting Lex Luthor's help.

Lex could feel Lois' stare, and he tried to gauge in what mood she was in, by how much she was scowling at him. He wanted to ask her some questions regarding Chloe, but he wasn't in the mood to have his head bitten off.

He had researched Fox River, and looked for any type of a tie between the prison and Luthorcorp, and he had found none. Lex had background checks done on all of the personnel, and there wasn't a single person who was affiliated with his company. He had even checked for family members' affiliation, and hadn't found anything.

So, he had turned his attention to the prisoners, and that was when things got interesting. He discovered that all of the prisoners who had died mysteriously over the past ten years, had all been delusional, and they had all been assigned to Ward B, which housed the more violent patients.

Lex didn't think that Chloe would be in any danger of falling victim to a mysterious death, because in all likelihood, she would be kept in Ward A. She would still be able to interact with the people in Ward B, but only for a short time, which would be during meals, and in the yard.

It didn't take a genius to figure out that Chloe had a reason for needing to be in that specific prison, and Lex didn't think it was to uncover ten years worth of prisoners deaths.

No, Chloe had purposely gotten herself thrown into Fox River to meet someone in particular, and again, it didn't take Lex long to stumble upon Chloe's reason for ruining her life.

Sarah Donovan was not only one of many delusional patients in Ward B, but she was also Chloe's mother. He had read Sarah's file, but it mostly contained the history of her mental illness and subsequent incarceration.

What he wanted to know was what Chloe's mom was like as a person.

He would have preferred to have asked Chloe, but for now, that option was out of the question. He didn't want to ask Gabe; the man was going through enough without being plagued with questions about his ex-wife.

So unfortunately for him, that meant that Lois was his only option. He didn't dislike Lois, but he didn't want to be friends with her either. She actually only registered on his radar because of her connection to Chloe and Clark.

He was so deep in thought that he didn't notice at first that Lois had moved from her station behind the counter, and was fast approaching his table.

He quickly closed the file he had on where Chloe was being held, and watched warily as Lois walked up to him.

She stood in silence for half a minute, and Lex sat quietly, and waited for her to finally make up her mind to speak.

And when she did, Lex had been so startled by what she said, he had to ask her to repeat it, which she did, without any trace of impatience to her voice. She was determined to get her message across, and she seemed equally intent on Lex's understanding her completely.

"Catacombs."

He blinked in surprise and stupidly repeated, "Catacombs?"

"Yes, catacombs. It's what Chloe wanted me to tell you. She said you'd understand."

And with that, Lois turned on her heel and walked back to the cappachino machine, and started to vigorously scrub at the countertop.

Lex's mind started to whirl, and he looked through his files until he found the blue prints for the prison. He pulled them out, and began to examine them, paying strict attention to the area beneath Fox River.

Once again, it didn't take him long to figure out what Chloe was trying to tell him, and when he did, Lex felt slightly sick. Chloe was planning to escape through the tunnels underneath the prison, but the question was, which tunnel was she going to use?


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: **This chapter is all about Chloe's mom, and what made her leave her family, and please be warned: this chapter includes a mention of violence against a child.**

Chapter 6

Sarah Donovan sat inside the office of Dr. Bellick at the Fox River Sanitarium, and waited for her daughter to show up.

At first, she had been overjoyed when she recognized the beautiful young woman standing in the prison yard, as her now very grown up daughter, but that quickly turned to nausea when she realized that Chloe's presence in the asylum meant that she hadn't escaped the curse of mental illness that ran rampant through her family.

Dr. Bellick had been thrilled to discover who Chloe was, and she decided to stage an impromptu family reunion in the disguise of a therapy session.

So Sarah was forced to relive the last time she had seen her daughter's face.

Chloe had been five years old, and she was fast asleep. Sarah had stared down at Chloe's little face, and she could feel her own heart-breaking at the knowledge of what she had to doSarah was going to have to leave her family.

She was going to have to walk away from the two people she loved the most in world, because Chloe was no longer safe in her care.

Sarah stood in Chloe's bedroom, and looked at her daughter, and knew, deep in her heart of hearts, that she was doing the right thing for her family. She was having the dreams again, and she would be damned if she let anyone, including herself, hurt a hair on that little girl's head.

From the minute that Sarah had first told Gabe that she was pregnant, strange things had begun to occur.. She had the early pregnancy symptoms that most women had: morning sickness, excessive tiredness, moodiness.

Sarah's mood swings veered from her screaming at the top of her lungs, to her just as quickly dissolving into tears. Her doctor assured her that this was all perfectly normal.

But then she started seeing and hearing things, and her dreams became plagued by nightmares.

The majority of people who are mentally ill don't actually know that they are sick. But there is a small percentage who are fully aware that they are going insane, and Sarah Donovan Sullivan was one of those people.

There was a part of her that knew that what was happening to her was not normal, and that she was powerless to stop it.

People from her past that she knew full well were dead, would appear out of nowhere, and she could hear them talking. In fact, they were usually talking to her, offering her advice.

Sarah convinced herself that this was God's way of looking out for her--that they weren't ghosts or figments of her imagination, but that they were angels, sent by God, to watch over her family.

But at night, her dreams were full of shadows that always seemed vaguely threatening. She would wake up, her heart pounding in fear, but she was never exactly sure why she had been afraid.

This went on throughout her pregnancy, and the shadows became more and more sinister until Sarah became convinced that there was a black cloud of doom hanging over her baby's life.

And adding to that, Sarah continued to have her spectral visitors, but they had become a source of comfort for her. Perhaps the good spirits would be able to counteract the demonic ones, and she had her baby would both be safe from the darkness that was threatening them.

The part of Sarah's mind that was still sane knew that she should mention what was happening to her doctor, or her family. But she never told a soul about her fears for her baby, or herself,

It took a long time for Sarah to admit this to herself, but she realized that she was afraid that she really was crazy and she knew, beyond a doubt, that she would get locked up, and she would be separated from her child for the rest of her life.

The days leading up to Sarah's giving birth had been so hectic that she hadn't even realized that not a single dead relative had made an appearance. And she was finally getting a goodnight's sleep.

She closed her eyes, and breathed a silent prayer, and hoped that maybe the visitations and nightmares had stopped.

Sarah went into the hospital and, after ten hours of excruciating labor, gave birth to a six pound, seven once baby girl. The little girl was promptly named Chloe, and both mother and father burst into tears at the sight of their squealing infant.

Sarah had tried to get her emotions under control, but she couldn't seem to stop crying. Until that very moment, she hadn't realized how scared she had been that something was going to go wrong. There could have been a problem while she was giving birth, or the even more terrifying thought, that the baby itself would come out with a horrible deformity.

Either way, Chloe Elizabeth Sullivan was now alive and well, with all her finger and toes accounted for, and all of her limbs attached, and Sarah knew that it was up to her and Gabe to keep her that way.

Sarah was able to keep her optimism until about the third week of Chloe's being born.

It was 2:36am, and Sarah was giving Chloe her fifth bath of the day. Gabe had come home early from work with a touch of the flu, and a couple hours later, Chloe had started throwing up.

So, Sarah was changing Chloe's sleeper and bedding yet again, and she felt like bursting into tears herself.

Either that, or screaming at the top of her lungs.

Instead, she looked at her daughter's little face, and noticed how pale she looked, and how her eyes looked glassy. She was about to reach for the thermometer to check to see if Chloe had a temperature when her grandmother appeared next to her at the tub.

Sarah didn't jump or even gasp in fear. Instead, she closed her eyes, and hugged her daughter to her chest, not even realizing that she was still soaked from her bath.

She didn't open her eyes again until her grandmother spoke, and when she heard what the old lady said, Sarah did gasp, and she  
clutched Chloe even tighter to her while she asked her grandmother to repeat herself.

The older lady looked at her granddaughter, and smiled. "I said you should drown her, and put that poor baby out of its misery. My God, what kind of life will she have with you as her mother?"

Sarah was broken out of her reverie by a knock at the door of Dr. Bellick's office. Miss Tancredi came in, and Sarah noticed that her face was set and she looked stern.

When Dr. Bellick heard what the nurse had to say, her face noticeably paled. She looked at Sarah, and said, "I'm sorry, but the reunion is going to have to wait. There's been another death in Ward B."


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

There were only a few things in this world that Clark Kent was sure of, and Chloe's sanity was one of them.

When she had first approached him with her plan, he couldn't comprehend why she would want to fake being insane, and Chloe offered no explanation.

He tried to question her, but Chloe had told him not to worry about it, and that all she wanted him to do was make sure Lex knew about the cell phone.

At the time, Clark had agreed, but it was only after talking to Lois that he decided that Chloe needed him to intervene on her behalf.

So, when he and Lois went to talk to Lex, at Chloe's request, he decided to change the plan. Instead of delivering the message Chloe wanted him to, Clark decided to convince Lex to get Chloe out of the asylum.

But, inexplicably, the man had refused, and Clark and Lois had been thrown out of his mansion.

It wasn't until days later that Clark realized that Chloe was counting on him to help her, and that for some reason, she wanted Lex to be involved.

He realized that he was going to have to bite the bullet, and face the man who was once his friend, and who was Chloe's lifeline.

And that was the reason why Clark was standing outside of Lex's Luthorcorp office, with one of Chloe's shirts folded up in his hands.

For some reason, Chloe wanted Lex to come to Fox River, and bring her one of her shirts. And it just so happened that her cell phone was sewn into the inside lining.

Chloe had been around enough crime scenes to know that what was happening in Fox River was not normal.

It was certainly not police procedure for only two uniformed police officers from the Metropolis Police Department to show up to a crime scene, and the officers would not just take the statements of the nurse who reported the death and the orderly who found the prisoner's body.

Police procedure mandated that a crime scene unit be called in to gather evidence, take pictures and dust for fingerprints, especially when a fatality was involved. Not to mention that the prison staff themselves would be conducting their own investigation, and sharing that information with the police.

Instead, the cops just walked into the prison, talked to the staff, and then left.

And the prison officials weren't any better. Br. Bellick had rushed into the room right after Miss Tancredi reported the death, and she only talked to the nurse and the orderly.

She didn't pull any of the patients aside to ask what they saw, but then again, most of the women in Ward B were delusional so who knew what answers she might have gotten.

But on the other hand, Dr. Bellick didn't talk to any of the other staff. She just took Miss Tancredi's and the orderly's words for what happened to the poor unfortunate soul who died that night.

Chloe knew that she shouldn't be surprised by what she happening in the prison, but she was stunned by how quickly the patient's death was covered up.

Dr. Bellick examined the dead woman, pronounced that it was an accidental overdose, and went back to her office. In short order, the prisoner's room was quickly cleaned, and all of their personal effects were either pitched into the trash or given to other inmates.

No one waited for the Metropolis Medical Examiner to make the death official or for an autopsy to be done to find out the actual cause of death.

The prison was just planning on sweeping the death under the rug, and they seemed to have the city of Metropolis' full cooperation.

But the investigator in Chloe couldn't be silent, because through it all, she wanted to yell out that they should be preserving evidence, and waiting for the crime scene unit to arrive, but from the looks of how quickly the orderlies were moving, this must have been standard practice.

She knew from all of her research that Dr. Bellick was a kind and compassionate person, but her covering up the mysterious deaths just didn't track.

There was obviously more going on at the prison then even Chloe could have guessed at.

She took a deep breath, and tried to swallow down the hysteria that was threatening to overwhelm her. She knew that all was not well at Fox River, but she never could have predicted the blatant lawlessness that was actually happening.

After about a full minute of deep breathing, Chloe could tell that her panic attack was subsiding, and her old reporter's instinct were kicking back in.

She glanced around and quickly assessed the situation.

Ordinarily, she wouldn't have been able to get as close to Ward B as she was now, but the chaos of the "accidental" death made the staff lax, and Chloe was able to stand in the hallway that separated Ward B.

In fact, she was able to see right into their common room.

Chloe had expected that the prison would have gone into a lockdown, but the day was proceeding like any other.

She needed to get a better look at the crime scene, so she made her way to where the body was being loaded onto a gurney. There were still quite a few prisoners from both Wards standing together in the hall, so Chloe tried to blend with them so she didn't look too suspicious.

She heard one of the nurses say that the dead woman's name was Ann Scott. Chloe didn't know who the person was, but she was hoping to figure out why the prisoners in Ward B were the ones being targeted.

She was so intent on craning her neck to try to get a better look, which she barely had time to react when she felt a hand grab her arm and yank her into an empty room.

Chloe opened up her mouth to scream when she recognized the person who had grabbed her. She quickly shut her mouth, but then opened it again to choke out one word.

"Mom?"

Sarah knew that she was taking a risk but she had to talk to Chloe while she had the chance.

When she saw her daughter standing outside of her ward, she knew that she wouldn't have an opportunity like this again. She grabbed her and hustled her into the first empty room that she could find, which just happened to be the supply room.

Sarah quickly locked the door, and then she turned to face her little girl.

She tried to speak, but she couldn't seem to get her voice past the lump that was suddenly lodged in her throat.

The two simply stared at each other for what seemed like a lifetime, but what was actually only a minute.

It was Chloe who took the initiative when she stepped towards the older woman, and reached out her hand, hesitantly asking, "Mom?"

At the sound of her daughter's voice, Sarah found that she could move, and she grasped her daughter's hand and pulled her into a tight hug, saying "Yes, Chloe-bug, it's me."

All Chloe needed to hear was her childhood nickname and she burst into tears, hugging her mom just as closely to her. Sarah murmured soothing words of comfort to her daughter, and Chloe sobbed for all she was worth.

Finally, she managed to pull herself together, and to stop crying long enough to exchange a watery smile with her mom.

Sarah glanced around the supply room, and handed Chloe a roll of paper towels to dry her face off and blow her nose.

While Chloe ripped off a sheet, Sarah looked at her daughter seriously and said, "Chloe, what are you doing here?"

Chloe answered just as seriously, "I'm here to get you out."

But before Chloe could elaborate, the door to the supply room opened, and there stood Miss Tancredi.

"Well, well, well, what have we here?"


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Lex sat in the waiting room of the Fox River Sanitarium, and he wondered for the hundredth time what he was doing there.

He and Chloe weren't exactly best friends, but they were hardly sworn enemies either. His and Chloe's relationship seemed to hover in a weird zone of being friendly adversaries. They knew each other's weaknesses, but they also knew each other's strengths.

Maybe that was why he was in this god forsaken place that reminded him eerily of Belle Reve. And it wasn't just the physical sameness that was getting to him. The walls of the prison were painted the same gray shade, and the floors were tiled in the same white squares.

All state institutions must use the same brand of disinfectant, because the two places smelled the same as well.

No, the eeriness came in the similarities to the atmosphere of the asylum. The air felt thicker inside the walls, as if no one would ever be able to breath deeply again.

He knew full well that his memory of those seven weeks when he was institutionalized would forever be hazy, but he didn't think he would ever be able to erase the feeling of drowning, of suffocating, that always accompanied the knowledge of his brother's death.

That was how the memory of Julian's death always struck him. The crushing sensation would hit him first, because he knew, he knew, that if he'd only moved a little bit faster when he'd first heard the crying, he could have saved his baby brother.

And in the same way, he could have saved his mother, and maybe himself. If his mother didn't have Julian's death on her conscience, she might have fought harder to beat the cancer. Then he would have had his brother and his mother with him, and he wouldn't feel quite so alone.

Lex was suddenly aware of the tears that filled his eyes, and he abruptly stood up, and shook his hear roughly. He started to pace around the room, while his thoughts went a mile a minute.

He didn't have the time to indulge himself in any pointless "what if" thoughts, or to throw his own personal pity party.

Chloe needed his assistance to help get her and her mom out of the prison, and he was going to do just that.

He walked back to his chair, and settled himself down to wait for Chloe's arrival.

"Sarah, do you know what the word 'schizophrenia' means?"

Sarah tried not to roll her eyes at Dr. Bellick's question, but her mind was not on her therapy. What she wanted to do was spend more time with her daughter and question Chloe further, but that wasn't presently an option.

After Miss Tancredi found them in the supply room, she grabbed them both by the upper arms and forced them out of the room.

The nurse didn't ask either prisoner any questions, which was completely unlike her. Instead, she handed Chloe off to an orderly, and she escorted Sarah directly to Dr. Bellick's office for her appointment.

And that was where she had been for the past forty-five minutes.

So Sarah tried to raise enough interest to answer as clearly as she could, but the only thing she could come up with was the phrase "a defect in the perception of reality."

Dr. Bellick smiled indulgently as she replied, "That is a symptom that often happens to patients suffering from the disorder, but the word 'schizophrenia' is actually from the Greek and it means 'shattered mind.' Isn't that fascinating?"

Dr. Bellick frowned slightly when she failed to get any type of reaction from her patient. She peered at her over her clipboard, and was unsurprised to see Sarah Donovan with a faraway look on her face, her mind a million miles away.

She was probably thinking about her daughter, and that would simply not do.

No, it would seem that Sarah needed a little extra help to start the healing process, so that when she and her daughter met up again, they could have a proper reunion.

Dr. Bellick put a notation in Sarah Donovan's chart, and nodded to herself. Perhaps it was time for Sarah to begin her regression therapy.

Chloe walked quickly to keep up with the longer strides of the orderly who was currently escorting her to the visitors' waiting room.

She tried to concentrate on the fact that she had a visitor, but the orderly's odd behavior had her more freaked then she cared to think about.

When Miss Tancredi hauled her and her mom out of the supply room, she had been told that "T-Bag" would be taking her to R & D.

The nurse then grabbed her mom's arm, and pulled her towards the doors leading to Ward A.

Chloe was left alone with the orderly, who was grinning unpleasantly at her. He was not much taller than she was, and appeared to be almost sickly thin. His face was pale and narrow, and he had the beadiest brown eyes she had ever seen. His hair was brown, and even though he seemed to be only in his twenties, it was already receding.

She tried not to shiver, but he was staring at her with a knowing look in his eye that made her uncomfortable, and she briefly thought that if a fight broke out, she could probably take him.

But probably wasn't good enough in a place like this.

But before she could even ask what was going on, the man had stuck out his hand. "Tyler Bagdonovich, but everyone calls me T-Bag."

Chloe took his hand and tried not to grimace at how clammy his skin was. She shook it as quickly as she could and released it in a matter of seconds.

T-Bag was still grinning just as unpleasantly as before, but now he appeared to be almost leering at her. He wiped the hand that had shook hers across his mouth, and Chloe was sickened to see him licking his own palm.

She resisted the urge to turn away from him, intuitively knowing that he was testing her. If he saw that she was scared of him, who knew what else he would try. So, she forced herself to keep looking him in the eye.

He paused to watch her reaction, and then he purred, "Why, you are just the prettiest fish I've ever seen."

She could feel a sudden burst of anger, and she opened her mouth to ask him what the hell he meant by that comment.

But Chloe never got the chance, because T-Bag had grabbed her arm in a vice-like grip, and started to propell her down the hallway.

She felt herself tense, and tried to wrench her arm back, but T-Bag just tightened his hold. She opened her mouth to ask where he was taking her when he suddenly stopped.

She glanced warily around her, but only recognized that they were back in Ward A's common room.

The confusion must have shown on her face, because he gave out a short bark of laughter, and said, "Listen up, Fish, I'm only going to say this once. R & D is Receiving and Discharge, and you've got a visitor waiting for you there. You do anything funny, and you'll be in a straightjacket faster than you can blink. Understand?"

Chloe nodded, too stunned at being called a "fish" twice in a two minute conversation to form a coherent answer. She walked through the doors into the waiting room and she was greeted with the sight of Lex Luthor waiting for her.

2nd A/N: A "fish" is a prison term for the newest convict in the tank at Fox River. Aren't you glad you asked?


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: Okay, this is going to be the first Chlex conversation in this story. Can you believe it? So, try and enjoy it, and tell me what you think.

Ch 9

Lex had been so immersed in his own thoughts that he hadn't even noticed when Chloe walked into the waiting room.

He had overheard an inmate telling her brother that another prisoner had died of an apparent drug overdose. Lex had waited for the other man to start asking questions about the death, but it didn't happen. 

Lex darted a quick glance at the brother and sister sitting at the table next to him and when he saw the brother's reaction to the news, he could feel a knot begin to form in the pit of his stomach

The brother was nodding, and he had a sympathetic look on his face, but he clearly thought that his sister was delusional.

And after listening to the sister tell her story, and then catching a look at her himself, Lex couldn't really blame him.

She had been telling her brother that a tea bag had slipped more pills then were necessary into the woman's medicine cup, and she had been forced to take all of them. She then went on to say that tea bag had done this before, and that the warden was in on it.

Lex shook his head, his heart full of pity for the brother and his sister, but he never doubted her story that someone had been killed. There were just way too high of a ratio of "death by drug overdose" for any sane person to be comfortable with.

But he was currently sitting in a hospital for the insane, and he realized that the only thing he doubted was that the perpetrator was a tea bag.

And despite himself, he found his eyes drawn to prisoner's face, and when he saw what she looked like, he couldn't make himself turn his eyes away.

Her skin was an unnatural shade of white, and her hair was sticking up all over in unruly knots, but it was the expression in her eyes, a kind of unseeing of the reality around her, which marked her as mentally ill.

It was depressing to admit that if Lex hadn't known better, he would have sworn that the woman had stepped out of a picture of a history book. Unfortunately, it would have had to have been a chapter devoted to Bedlam, because she looked like every stereotype of the insane that the media had ever drawn.

And while he felt sorry for her that her brother didn't believe her, Lex knew that it was the truth, and any misgivings that he had about why he was helping Chloe went out the window.

No matter what differences he and Chloe had, he was not about to let her stay in such a dangerous environment, plan or no plan.

People could be bribed, and Lex was sure that it wouldn't take much to get the prison's warden to agree to a transfer of Chloe and her mom. Of course, Chloe would probably have something to say about it, but they would argue about that later.

He had turned his back to the door, and had walked over to the window, so that he could make his phone call undisturbed, when a familiar voice stopped him.

"I hope you're ordering a pizza, because I'm starved."

He froze in the middle of dialing, and tried to get control of his facial expression before turning around.

An equally snarky reply had been on his lips, but when he was finally able to look fully at Chloe, he found that he couldn't speak over the lump in his throat.

The first thing he noticed was how pale she looked, and there were dark circles under her eyes as if she hadn't slept in days. She looked thinner to him, and much more delicate then he could ever recall seeing her before.

In Smallville, she had been a force to be reckoned with, and he seriously doubted that had changed when she moved back to her hometown of Metropolis.

But in here, behind the prison walls of Fox River, she looked small and fragile, and easily broken, and for some unknown reason, that scared him.

But his being scared wouldn't help Chloe any, and it certainly wouldn't help get her out of this place. So instead, he shoved the uncomfortable feeling away, and took a deep breath to try to speak over the lump in his throat.

But she surprised him by talking again, "Damn, Lex, I didn't know you would get that choked up about Italian food. We can get Mexican if you prefer."

He shot her an incredulous glance, and had already opened his mouth to tell her that she shouldn't be joking at a time like this, when he saw her face.

She was grinning at him. An honest, full fledged smile, and just the knowledge that Chloe hadn't lost any of her feistiness lifted his spirits.

And even though they were in the bleakest of surroundings, he found himself smiling back at her, and giving her an equally sarcastic response.

"Chloe, you know that the only fast food I approve of is Chick-Fil-a."

Chloe rolled her eyes at him, and they shared another grin before they sat down at the table the furthest away from any of the other prisoners or their visitors.

Lex had a bag for Chloe filled with various items that she had asked her dad to bring to her. When Gabe had heard that Lex was making a trip out to the asylum, he had asked him to make the delivery, already knowing that the man wanted to question Chloe.

Lex took the shirt that Clark gave him out of the bag and placed it in front of Chloe. She glanced at the orderly standing guard, and Lex followed her gaze.

"It's alright. Any items to be given to an inmate were already thoroughly searched and cleared, so you're good."

Chloe surreptitiously felt the lining and she could feel the outline of the cell phone. She smiled gratefully at Lex, and then quickly folded the shirt up, and placed it back in the bag.

Lex watched carefully as Chloe's eyes swept around the room, and waited until she was looking at him again. When he was sure he had her attention, he leaned forward and asked, "Chloe, what's going on?"

She glanced once more at the orderly, and lowered her voice for good measure. "I take it you've talked to Lois and Clark."

He nodded his head, and spoke just as low. "Yes, they've played their parts that you asked them too, but I still have questions. Are you prepared to answer them?"

On any normal day, Chloe would have taken offense at his tone, but this was hardly any day. "I'll answer what I can, but first tell me. How is my dad?"

Lex knew that he would never get a straight answer out of Chloe, so he decided to play things her way. "He's okay. Deeply worried about you, but I think that's because he's fully been apprised of your plan. But he's holding it together."

He paused before continuing. "He seems to think I'm going to ride to the rescue. Now why is that exactly?"

Chloe smiled slightly at Lex's wording, but she quickly sobered up. "Let's cut the crap. You know that I'm planning on escaping with my mom, and that we are going to get out through the underground sewer pipes. You also know that I now have my cell phone, and some other handy gadgets in my care package."

This time it was Chloe who paused for emphasis. "Who do you think I'm going to ask to have a car waiting and ready to whisk us out of the country? And whose influence do you think I'm going to need to get my mom into a better equipped and less dangerous facility?"

Once Chloe started, she couldn't seem to make herself stop. "I know this is asking a lot, Lex, because I'm not just asking for financial help, but I'm also asking for you to place your personal freedom and reputation on the line."

She had to stop talking again, but this time it was to wipe the tears out her eyes. "But I swear to God, you will be saving my mother's life, and if everything goes right, many other lives as well."

There was dead silence after Chloe finished speaking, and she found that she couldn't look Lex in the eye. She was embarrassed about her emotional speech, and the only thing she wanted to do was take it all back. It wasn't that she didn't believe what she had just talked about, but she knew that Lex wouldn't be swayed by sentimentality. He preferred to deal in hard facts, and Chloe was afraid that she had just made the case against his helping her anymore just that much stronger.

Lex knew that before Chloe had even started talking that he was going to help her. He would never admit this to anyone, but he sometimes still had nightmares about his time in Belle Reve. His dreams were vague half remembrances that weren't fully formed, but the one thought that always stood out was the fear.

He had been deeply, profoundly afraid in that mental hospital. The only other time he remembered feeling that level terror was finding his mother standing by Julian's crib, with a pillow in her hand.

Lex knew that no one should have to experience what he had, and that the places that housed the mentally ill should be havens of peace and tranquility, and not rundown buildings, filled with dimly light rooms, where shadowy experiments went on.

When he was finally released, he had sworn that he would never let another living soul, even his worst enemy, go though that kind of pain, and torment.

But, he couldn't exactly tell Chloe all of this, so, he decided to try and concentrate on her plan, and to find out what she was going to require of him.

Providing a getaway vehicle was the easy part. Bribing prison officials was an entirely different matter. Lex wasn't adverse to it, but he would need to do more research on the warden and other officials in the Kansas Department of Corrections in order to be able to blackmail them effectively.

He knew that Chloe would want to know what he was planning, but he was going to hold off telling her as long as he could.

So he decided to catch her by surprise with his answer.

He let one minute tick by before he responded to Chloe's request. "Okay," he said.

"Okay?" Chloe repeated. "What the hell do you mean, okay?"

"Okay, as in I help you and your mom escape, and I'll help get her into a better, and safer hospital," Lex explained patiently.

For a moment, Chloe was too dumbfounded to speak. Then before he could react, Chloe was up out of her chair, she had flung herself into his arms, and she was hugging the very breath out of him.

And before Lex could hug her back, Chloe had she let go, and she sat back down in her chair.

She looked at him very seriously, and said, "I know that you have your reasons for helping, and one day, when this is all over, I'll ask you about them, but right now, a 'thank you' is going to have to suffice."

He looked back just as seriously and answered. "Chloe, I don't think I'm ever going to be able to tell you why I'm helping you, so you're just going to have to accept a 'you're welcome' as an answer. Good enough?"

Chloe regarded him, and answered just as coolly. "Good enough. For now."

Lex tried not to smile, because they both knew that there was more going on during their conversation then met the eye, but they had a lot to discuss today, so he was grateful that she was going to let it go.

For now.


	10. Chapter 10

Ch 10

The mood between Chloe and Lex relaxed after she told him about his role in the escape. They were both still tense with the each other, but he genuinely wanted to help her, and she trusted him to get her and her mom out of Fox River.

It wasn't a truce exactly, but more of a meeting of the minds.

But as much as they would have liked to have pretended otherwise, the old resentments that had separated them and ruined their friendship were still there.

When they had been friends, Chloe had surprised Lex with how easily she could read him, but now that they had drifted apart, she was at a loss.

She wished things could have been different, but once she had learned Clark's secret, she knew that she had to sever all ties to her billionaire friend.

Many times during that summer she had been in hiding, their conversations had drifted towards their mysterious friend, and Chloe was only too aware of Lex's desire to uncover whatever it was Clark wanted to keep secret.

She understood that desire, because she shared it.

More that once, Chloe had picked up the phone so that she could share with Lex everything that she had learned. To let him know that one of his many speculations had been correct. Lex had once surmised that Clark seemed to fall ill at the oddest times, and Chloe yearned to tell him that it was all due to the influence of the meteor rocks.

But, then reality would come crashing in, and Chloe would realize that it was not her secret to tell.

It was right around the time that Chloe started to take down her Wall of Weird. Clark, like many of the people in Smallville, was as much a victim of the meteor shower as Lana Lang and her pancaked parents could ever be.

So, she decided to protect Clark and his secret, and unfortunately, she had to lose Lex's friendship along the way.

Chloe hadn't realized how deep in her thoughts she had been until she was startled by Lex's deep voice. "We used to be friends."

She blinked in surprise, but then smiled grimly. Lex always seemed to know what she was thinking about, and their past friendship seemed to be weighing on his mind that day, as well.

She also couldn't help but notice his tone of voice, and she was strangely relieved that he hadn't sounded like he was accusing her of anything.

In fact, his tone of voice had sounded almost sorrowful.

Chloe took a deep breath and gazed back at him with an even expression. "A long time ago," she answered back.

He snorted derisively and abruptly stood up. "Not that long," he shot back. "Or have you forgotten already?"

Chloe could feel her anger start to rise, and she also stood up "I haven't forgotten anything. I remember when we were friends, but circumstances have changed."

Lex didn't even try to hide the contempt he felt for Chloe's answer. "Circumstances changed?!" he bitterly mimicked. "It wasn't the circumstances that changed Chloe. It was you."

It took all of Chloe's self control not to roll her eyes at him. "Ah yes. I'm the one completely to blame for our friendship ending. Your obsession with a certain farmboy didn't distort your viewpoint at all, right?"

Any pretense that Lex had at trying to be civilized vanished into thin air. "Remember the day of the second meteor shower? You lied to me, Chloe. Lied right to my face. I put up with Clark doing that for four years. I wasn't about to take that from you."

"So, you just grabbed me and forced me to go with you to the caves? That seemed like a better option?" Chloe shook her head sadly. "I'm sorry to say this to you, but your behavior that day just strengthened my resolve that I had made the right choice."

At hearing those words, all of Lex's anger seemed to go out of him. "I kind of figured that out after you checked me into the wall. But when I came to, you weren't there."

He knew that he would regret what he was about to do, but he couldn't resist needling her one more time. He eyed Chloe speculatively, and he asked her, half-jokingly, "Just how did you wind up in the Arctic?"

As soon as he said the words, he wished he could have taken them back, and unfortunately for him, Chloe didn't even look partially amused.

"That is why we had to stop being friends," Chloe quietly said. "You can't let anything go. For as long as I've known you, you never seemed to know when to quit. That is usually a trait I admire, but when your need to know starts screwing with people's lives, that's when you become dangerous."

She took another deep breath, before she spoke again. "And I should know, because I'm just like you."

Lex had to look away at seeing the sudden pain in her eyes. He nodded his head slowly, aware that they had both spoken the truth.

He knew she was right about his obsessive nature, and she knew that he was right about her lying to him.

Chloe realized that the room had grown much quieter. She quickly glanced around to see if their argument had drawn any attention. There was another prisoner at the other end of the room, but she was too deeply involved in a conversation with her family to pay Chloe and Lex any mind.

But she could feel her heart start to sink when she saw that T-Bag was hanging around the visitor's room. He appeared to be keeping an eye on the inmates but he seemed to be only looking at Chloe.

When he saw that he had been spotted, he started to make his way over to them.

Chloe saw this and immediately turned her back on the orderly. "Shit, T-Bag's coming this way. Just follow my lead, okay?"

Lex's eyes widened when he heard the orderly's name. "Whoa, wait minute. T-Bag's an actual person?"

At Chloe's distracted nod, Lex leaned forward until he was whispering into her ear. "Chloe, there's something I've got to tell you."

But before he had a chance to say anything, T-Bag had crossed the room and was standing in front of the pair. "I hate to break up the festivities, but visiting time is over. That means you have to leave, pronto. You got me?"

Chloe smiled tightly, grabbed Lex by the hand, and pulled him towards the door. "Understood. My friend was just leaving."

But T-Bag wasn't done. He had seen the pretty little fish's interaction with the bald young man, and he couldn't resist stirring up the proverbial pot, because there was noting more amusing than riling up an overprotective man. "Now, don't go trying to slink on out of here. I'd miss my pretty little fish. And you wouldn't want to leave me on my lonesome, now would you?"

Chloe didn't even bother commenting, because it took all of her strength to keep moving Lex to the door. At hearing T-Bag's words, Lex had tensed up, but Chloe quickly whispered, "Let it go. He's just taunting you."

Lex silently nodded, and allowed Chloe to move him to the exit. But before she could push him out, he turned and pulled her into a tight hug. "I'll be back tomorrow, stay safe."

And with those words, and one last glare in T-Bag's direction, he was gone.


	11. Chapter 11

A/N: **WARNING: This chapter reveals why Sarah Donovan was placed in Fox River, and it isn't pleasant. I'm not going to go into details, but the violent imagery is there.**

Ch 11

Sarah Donovan had been at Fox River for six years, and she never thought about the crimes that had gotten her sent there. Dr. Bellick said that it was never healthy to dwell on the past, that it was much better to focus on the present.

But now, Dr. Bellick was changing her theory. She now wanted Sarah to remember all of the horrible things she had done, the people she had hurt, and even the things she had only thought about doing.

And oddly enough, Dr. Bellick wanted Sarah to specifically remember what she had done to Chloe and Gabe, and, most importantly, what she had done to get herself thrown into prison.

So Sarah reluctantly cast her mind back to happier times when she had been free. When she was married to a wonderful man, and a mother to a terrific little girl.

But even when she was lost in her memories, Sarah knew that those times had been far from idyllic.

It didn't take her long to remember the voices, because the voices had often been her only friends, especially after her visions abandoned her. Her grandmother had been her last ghostly visitor, and Sarah was more than happy to never see her again. She couldn't imagine her own gramie advising her to kill her sweet little baby.

But when the voices began, Sarah's situation became twenty times worse.

She had been sitting in her living room, and reading a book when she heard the whispering. Concerned, she has stood up and checked on her daughter, only to find the one year old, asleep and safe in her crib.

Sarah shook her head, and went back to reading, convinced that she was hearing things.

This went on for the next couple of years. Sarah would hear whispering, and sometimes she would be able to pick out distinct words, but she would never be able to find a source for the noise.

It got to the point that whenever Chloe was brought into the pediatrician for a check up, Sarah would ask the doctor for a hearing test.

Each and every time, she would pass the test with flying colors.

The situation didn't become perilous until Chloe was four years old. By this time, the whispering had become so audible that Sarah could barely distinguish Chloe or Gabe's talking to her from the voices conversing with her in her mind.

Yet somehow she still managed to function. It was her job to keep the Sullivan family together, and even though Gabe was clearly being overworked at Luthorcorp, and Chloe was by far the smartest child in her pre-school, they needed her to keep things running smoothly, and to take care of them.

Sarah wasn't about to let the voices interfere with that.

She had been able to hold it together remarkably well until one particular voice became louder then the others. The voice would not be ignored, and if Sarah tried to block her out, it only turned shriller, and more strident, and Sarah would end up with a severe headache.

And to save what was left of her sanity, Sara decided to listen, if only to get the woman to shut the hell up.

When Gabe came home from work that night, he had been shocked to find his wife hiding in the closet and holding Chloe to her. He asked Sarah what was wrong, but she had just sat there, holding their daughter, and muttering to herself.

He called the authorities, and quickly pried Chloe out of the death grip that Sarah had on her. Chloe had cried herself into an exhausted sleep, so Gabe was able to move her without waking her up.

He watched as Sarah was strapped into a gurney and wheeled into the ambulance. She was to be taken to Metropolis University Hospital and evaluated, and hopefully she would be back to her family in no time.

It was two weeks before Sarah was allowed to come back home, but by that time, everything in their lives had changed.

For the first time, Gabe had learned all of the secrets that Sarah had been keeping from him. That she saw visions of dead people, that she heard voices, and he was informed that both auditory and visual hallucinations were signs of schizophrenia.

But the most horrifying discovery came when he found out what had made Sarah hide in the closet that day.

He had learned that one of the voices had told Sarah that in order for her to find the kingdom of heaven, she would have to sacrifice a lamb. In other words, the voice wanted Sarah to kill Chloe, and that was what caused his wife to have her psychotic break.

It was difficult for Gabe to accept that his wife was not only mentally ill, but that she was now deemed a risk to herself and others. He had been assured that if Sarah was given the proper medication, her schizophrenia could be controlled.

Unfortunately, that couldn't be an option now because Sarah was eight weeks pregnant with their second child.

A month before this, Gabe would have been thrilled that they were going to have another baby, but no he felt sickened at the knowledge. This second child's life was in as much danger from his mother as Chloe was. And Sarah ran the risk of injuring herself as well, and Gabe didn't want to lose any of them.

So Gabe, with a surprisingly magnanimous Lionel Luthor's approval, was allowed to work from home three days a week, and on the other two days, a private nurse who was paid for by Luthorcorp, came in and took care of his family. Ordinarily, Gabe would have been suspicious, but he had learned that Mr. Luthor's wife was also expecting their second child, and perhaps that was what made Lionel so generous.

Either way, Gabe was not about to question it, so he eagerly accepted whatever help was offered.

He kept a careful eye on his wife, and daughter, and he was ashamed that he hadn't ever noticed how much emotional pain Sarah was in. Chloe, bless her little heart, would do her best to help her mom, but Sarah was often reduced to tears over minor occurrences.

Chloe did her best to keep her mom's spirits up, and they would play Sarah's old records on her stereo's turntable, and they would dance around the house for hours.

It was on those days that Gabe would be at his most optimistic. The medication would work, and Sarah and the baby would both be fine. And by the time Chloe was old enough, the doctor's would have found a cure, and she and her brother or sister would never have to worry about having hallucinations or hurting anyone.

But then the truth would come crashing in on him, and he would find Sarah crying. Chloe would be next to her, her little arms wrapped around her mom and patting her on the back, trying her best to comfort her sad mommy.

This went on like this for two months, but then an already bad situation turned worse.

It was the private nurse's day to watch his family, so Gabe had gone into the office, and it wasn't long until he was immersed in work. He was halfway through the pile of work on his desk, when he received the frantic call that his family was being taken to the emergency room.

By the time he made it to the hospital, every horrible scenario had run though his head, from Sarah's trying to drown Chloe, to picking up a hatchet and cutting her stomach, so he was unprepared for what had actually happened.

He had to ask the emergency room doctor to repeat himself, and even then Gabe couldn't quite believe what he had heard. Apparently, Sarah had suffered a miscarriage, not brought on by any outside trauma, but by the fetus's failure to thrive.

It was not too long after this that Sarah left her family, and voluntarily signed herself into a halfway house.

Sarah had to leave because it was proving to be too difficult being around her husband and daughter. She knew that they needed her, but all she could feel was the emptiness of her womb.

And sometimes, late at night, she could hear the sound of a baby crying. She would go into Chloe's room and see her sleeping daughter, and she was frightened at how angry she was.

Angry that her baby had been taken from her, and that no one seemed to care anymore. Not Gabe, not Chloe, no one.

It was on one of those nights that Sarah heard the voices. She had grown so used to the sound in her head that the only time she really paid any attention to them was if they were particularly loud.

On this night, they were screaming at her. Screaming at her to pick up the pillow that was closest to her, and to smother her still living baby girl. Sarah hadn't even realized that she had the pillow in her hand until Chloe had turned over in her sleep.

Startled, Sarah dropped the pillow and ran out of the room. By the next morning, she was packed and was moving into the halfway house.

She knew that both Gabe and Chloe would be hurt by her decision to leave, but she needed professional help, and she couldn't get it while trying to take care of a family.

Five years had passed, and Sarah Donovan was doing well.

She was still under a doctor's care, and would probably need to be for the rest of her life, but she seemed to be dealing with her mental illness the best way she knew how.

For the past five years, she had been compliant with taking her anti-depressants and her doctors were convinced that she had her condition under control.

Sarah was no longer having any type of hallucinations, and she had become a productive member of society. She now had a job transcribing medical reports for a local doctors office, and strangely enough, no one saw it as a conflict of interest.

So because of how successful she was, her doctors wanted to reward her and help her reestablish a relationship with her husband and daughter.

But Sarah had adamantly refused. She had almost ruined their lives once, and she was not about to do that again. Her doctors has pleaded with her, but she wouldn't budge. In the end, they had no choice but to let their plans for a reunion fall to the wayside.

Her doctors still wanted to reward her, so they came up with a new idea. Why not give Sarah a day pass? She would be able to leave the facility, and go out into the town. She would be able to see new people and walk around unfamiliar ground.

A caseworker from the facility would be with her at all times, but it would still be a rare treat.

When Sarah heard the news, she had burst into tears. But it wasn't tears of happiness. It was terror. Sarah was scared to go out into public again, because she didn't trust herself around others, especially children.

Because while the voices and hallucinations were gone, the anger was still there, just beneath the surface.

The day arrived for Sarah's outside jaunt, and Sarah's fear had grown to such a degree that she was afraid that she was going to vomit during the five minute car ride into the town.

But they arrived without incident, and soon Sarah was standing in the town's square looking at all of the people.

Or rather, as she soon realized, she was looking at the small children. It didn't take her long before she spotted a little blonde girl in pigtails, pushing her baby brother in a stroller. She was standing outside the restrooms, probably waiting for her mother. The little girl was certainly old enough to know not to talk to stingers.

Sarah glanced casually around, and spotted her caseworker with his back turned to her. He was buying cotton candy, and he had taken his eyes off of her for just the moment to buy the treat.

When he had turned back, Sarah was gone.

The scream he heard five seconds later sent him running towards the busy highway. It was only two lanes, but traffic zoomed by at a high rate of speed, and it was busy enough for parents to constantly keep an eye out that their kids didn't wander too close to it.

It was by the side of the road that the caseworker saw a group of people standing and pointing towards the road.

In fact, some of the people seemed to be holding a woman back. By the time the caseworker reached the group, he could hear the woman screaming at the top of her lungs that the woman stole her babies.

He looked to where everyone was pointing, and then he saw her.

He saw that it was Sarah, and that she was standing in the middle of a busy intersection. Trucks and cars flew by, but he could see that she appeared to be holding a little blonde girl. The little girl was dangling in Sarah's arms, and she looked like a rag doll, so the caseworker guessed that the child was unconscious.

There also appeared to be a stroller in the middle of the road

The caseworker couldn't see the baby, but he could hear him crying.

Before he could say or do anything, Sarah had turned towards the crowd, and shouted, "All I want is for the crying to stop. That's all. I just want the crying to stop."

Sarah then laid the little girl on top of the stroller. She paused for a moment to give both children a kiss on the cheek.

She looked over at the crowd by the side of the road, and wiped the tears that were rolling down her face.

And then she pushed the stroller into oncoming traffic.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

It had been a week since Chloe had it thrown in her face that she and her mother were in mortal danger.

The fact was that Chloe didn't need it pointed out to her that life inside the walls of Fox River was cheap. She had it brought home to her on more than one occasion, but Lex was now making it his life's mission to remind her of that fact during every one of their phone conversations.

She smiled slightly at the irony of the situation: it had taken her putting her life in jeopardy for the two of them to forget the past and renew their friendship.

But that was exactly what they had done.

Chloe had called Lex the day after his visit, and he wasted no time in informing her that T-Bag was the person responsible for killing all the prisoners in Ward B.

Chloe had hardly been shocked at the news. T-Bag had proven himself to be a sleazy enough person who would have no qualms about drugging defenseless and delusional women.

What had actually shocked her most was that she didn't care.

She knew that Lex was unsettled by her non-reaction to his news. She didn't even need to see his face to know that he would be frowning, and that his jaw would be clenched in annoyance.

He would be annoyed with her, and frustrated that she hadn't immediately asked him to pull whatever strings he could to get her and her mom out.

She knew all of this from the chilly silence that mirrored her own stony silence at Lex's revelation at what he had overheard the day before in the visitors room.

Chloe finally spoke after she heard Lex clear his throat, a sure sign that he was reaching the end of his patience, "Do you know how to get to Fitz Street?"

She could practically hear Lex blink. "I'm sorry, Chloe, but would you repeat that?"

Despite the seriousness of the situation, Chloe could feel herself start to grin. "What's the matter, Lex? Are you experiencing a senior moment?"

She tried not to laugh out loud when she heard Lex begin to sputter in aggravation. "Chloe, are you high? I just told you that an orderly in the prison you are currently locked away in, is killing fellow prisoners, and you're asking me if I know where a street is?"

She quickly stifled the laughter bubbling up inside, and she spoke as clearly as she could. "Yes Lex, it is very important that you know where this street is. And that one of Fox River's sewer pipes ends on that particular street."

She could almost hear Lex's brain click into overdrive at this latest piece of information, and his answer was immediate. "Don't worry Chloe, I'll find out where Fitz is. What do you need to be on that street?"

Chloe didn't even pause. "I'll need a car to be waiting there at 8:30pm, this Friday."

"Consider it done."

She wasn't sure what prompted her to say it--perhaps it was relief that she was finally going to be getting out, but Chloe answered him back without even thinking, "Oh, and Lex make sure the car's silver. Anything else will clash with our prison uniforms.'

The silence that greeted her unthinking remark filled her with dread. She hadn't meant to say what she had just said, and her only excuse was that her nerves must finally be getting to her.

But what if Lex didn't care about her excuses? What if she had just succeeded in ticking him off so badly that he would now refuse to help?

She opened her mouth to apologize when she heard the unmistakable sound of Lex laughing.

It only lasted a minute, but in that time Chloe made an important discovery. She realized that somewhere in the middle of her escape plan, Lex had become her friend again. It didn't matter about Clark, or what secrets he held, just that Chloe was a friend in need.

And Lex never turned his back on a friend, and to Chloe's everlasting shame, she has forgotten that.

It would be a difficult balancing act, but Chloe knew that she could maintain a friendship with both Clark and Lex because she wasn't about to lose either man.

Finally, Lex's amusement subsided, and the silence between them stretched, but this time, the silence was less awkward.

Despite all of this, Chloe didn't quite know how to end the call, so she just waited, hoping that Lex would initiate it, but he seemed just as reluctant to break contact.

She could hear him start to clear his throat again, and then he blurted out, "Chloe, just promise me that you'll be careful. I couldn't stand it…"

Chloe quickly interrupted. "I promise, Lex. Nothing's going to happen to either me or my mom."

That seemed to ease his mind, but he was back to teasing her as if nothing had ever been amiss between them. "You know, when I told you about T-Bag, I half expected you to swear vengeance. Or at least to burst into tears."

She smiled at his dry tone, and answered back just as tartly. "Ah yes, because I routinely fall apart crying when I'm in a dangerous situation. As evidenced by my many escapes from death."

He chuckled in response. "I know that you're just waiting for a big, strong man to save you. You can admit it, Chloe. I won't hold it against you."

A sudden noise outside her cell door sent Chloe scrambling under her covers. It was bed check, and she had gotten so involved in their conversation that she had almost forgotten.

She laid down, and rolled to her side, making sure to keep her cell phone covered. The orderly's flashlight illuminated Chloe's form, and she could hear her name counted off the list. The next check would be in two hours time, and Chloe had a lot to accomplish before that.

She said her good-byes to Lex and promised to call him the same time tomorrow night.

Chloe slowly closed her cell phone and placed it in the custom-made hidden pocket on the inside of her cargo pants. There were three other carefully sewn hidden inside pockets, and they all held key instruments for her escape. Besides her cell phone, she also had her pocket knife, that contained lock pick-set, her encoded map of Fox River's sewer pipes and crawlspaces, and her own flashlight.

She was going to have to go into the crawlspace in the ceiling, and see how long it would take her to get to her mom's cell and back again.

She needed to have the exact time, but she also needed to be back in time for count. Chloe checked the time on her watch, and she started to unscrew the bolts on the vent in her cell.

That had been a week ago.

She now had the timing down so that it would take her twenty minutes to get to her mom's cell, and then onto the kitchen. Once she was in the kitchen, it would take forty-five minutes to navigate the sewer pipes.

Chloe was confident that she had thought of every eventuality, and she knew that if anything unexpected happened, she would be able to deal with it.

But it was now Friday night, and at 7pm, Chloe would begin her break out,

She just hoped that nothing would go wrong.


	13. Chapter 13

Ch 13

Chloe crouched by the air-vent to her mother's cell and peered in. She closed her eyes and said a silent prayer, hoping against hope that she hadn't arrived too late, that her mom hadn't been given her nightly dose of her antipsychotic drugs. After Sarah took her pills, she would be left in a drugged stupor that lasted for the next twelve hours.

And in order for the escape to work, Chloe would have to get to her before she was drugged. She needed Sarah to be clear-headed and most importantly, able to run.

To her relief, Chloe saw that her mom was sitting on her bed, and that she faced the door, with the air of waiting for someone to arrive.

Seeing her opportunity, she quickly unscrewed the bolts that held the vent to the wall, made sure to catch the front of the vent before it fell to the floor, and then shimmed out of the vent, into the cell.

Chloe didn't waste anytime to look around, knowing that this cell was as sparsely furnished as all the others in Fox River. The extent of the furnishings was a bunk, a table and an alcove for hanging clothes. 

She grabbed the chair from near the table, and using it as a ladder; she replaced the cover on the vent.

She turned back around to face the room, and truly looked at the bleak surroundings.

The cells at Fox River were built for a person to exist in, not to live.

And that was one of the many reasons Chloe wanted her mom out of it so badly.

She didn't want to frighten Sarah, so she tried to think of the best way to announce her presence. But she quickly came to the conclusion that there really wasn't a good way to let someone know that you'd just broken into their cell.

So, Chloe settled for the direct approach. She walked over to her mother and touched her on the shoulder.

Sarah turned her head, and without betraying any surprise at her daughter's presence, spoke quietly. "He's coming, Chloe, and he can't find you in here."

If Chloe was startled at her mom's lack of surprise to see her, she hid it, and focused on what Sarah said. She was obviously worried that an orderly would be coming by soon to administer their nightly meds, but if Chloe had her way, they would be long gone before then.

For the second time in as many minutes, Chloe paused before she spoke. She needed to tell Sarah about the escape, and she didn't know how she would react. And again, she decided to be blunt, because there really wasn't a good or easy way of handling any of this.

Chloe took a deep, fortifying breath, and answered her mom just as quietly, "I know he's coming, Mom. That's why we have to get out of here."

After hearing Chloe's words, Sarah looked faintly puzzled. "Get out of here? Are you talking about escaping?"

At her daughter's brief nod, Sarah leaped to her feet. "Leave? What the hell do you mean 'leave?!'"

But Sarah didn't pause to let Chloe speak. "If I got out, people wouldn't be safe from me."

She turned an agonized expression onto her daughter. "What if I hurt someone again? What if I hurt you or your father? I couldn't live with myself if that happened again!"

Chloe cringed at her mom's raised voice, and tried to shush her. "Mom, please stop yelling! Someone might hear!"

But that warning didn't have much affect on Sarah. All she could of were all the ways that Chloe might die by her hands. There was a part of her brain that recognized that Chloe was now an adult woman who could vend off an attack, but her thoughts were so jumbled with fear that to her, Chloe would always be a small child.

And one that Sarah could easily hurt.

Chloe was afraid that Sarah was nearing hysteria so she grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her gently. "Mom, please listen to me. I'm not talking about letting you walk out of here and back into society. I'm just talking about getting you out of Fox River."

Sarah was still muttering to herself, so Chloe shook her again, this time much harder. "MOM! Listen to me! I'm getting you out of here and having you placed in another institution. One with a decidedly lower patient death ratio."

Sarah finally stopped whispering and stared at Chloe blankly. She took that as a positive sign, and kept on telling her mom about the mental hospital she was going to be sent to. "It's a beautiful place, Mom and it's right outside of Metropolis. It's called Bryn Gwelyn, and while it's still a hospital for the criminally insane, the place is full of light. There are windows everywhere, and plants and life."

Chloe hadn't realized it, but she had started to cry as she whispered the last part. "And most importantly, prisoners aren't dying there." She let go of her mother's shoulders and looked at her anxiously. "Please Mom. Let me get you out of here and some place safe."

The truth of what Chloe was saying finally penetrated into Sarah's thoughts. She reached out a tentative hand and brushed the hair out of Chloe's tear-streaked face. "That sounds like a lovely place. When can we leave?"

Chloe grinned at her, and tried not to laugh out-loud when she pulled her into a tight hug. Her mom was going to be okay, and they were going to get out of this hell hole.

Sarah returned the hug just as eagerly, but she was still afraid. "But Chloe when are we going to do this? Do I have time to say good-bye to some of the girls? And what about..."

Chloe interrupted her mother before she could get to wound up. "Tonight, Mom. We're leaving tonight, so get your shoes on..."

Chloe's words died in her throat when she saw that the handle to her mom's cell door were being turned.

Sarah turned a frightened gaze unto Chloe. "He's here!"


	14. Chapter 14

A/N: I wanted to warn all of you that the part of the story contains T-Bag's thoughts and feeling. So be prepared for some strangeness

Ch 14

T-Bag walked down the halls of Ward B, trying to desperately stop himself from whistling. He had begun to purse his lips, but then he thought better of it.

After all, he couldn't risk having his favorite time of the day taken away from him.

From the very beginning of his employment at Fox River, T-Bag had the rare distinction of distributing the nightly doses of medication. He loved pushing the medicine cart up and down the hallways, and sometimes he would deliberately shake his keys so that the inmates knew that he was coming.

And then he would get to witness the favorite part of his favorite activity. He could never get enough of watching the prisoners react to medication time, because everyone reacted differently to getting their drugs. Some prisoners would be happy, almost giddy at knowing their nightly oblivion was coming. Others looked morose, or even angry at being force fed anti-psychotics.

But T-Bag always loved the prisoners who would look at him with true gratitude. He was never sure what they were grateful for, but he liked to pretend that they were thanking him for helping them leave their tragic and depressive lives.

Either way, he knew that it was unusual to love his job as much as he did, but he damn near couldn't help himself.

Now that he thought about it, the worst part of the job was that he couldn't whistle, because the Warden frowned upon the orderlies or anyone in the staff, making too much noise. His reason had something to do with not wanting to upset the inmates.

T-Bag shook his head sharply, and muttered darkly to himself that the true reason had more to do with the warden being afraid of accidentally setting off a room full of violently insane people.

But the warden didn't need to be afraid of that happening, because T-Bag knew that was all bunk. The women in this place wouldn't have cared a lick if the prison decided to do a re-enactment of The Battle of Bull Run on the front lawn.

No, the reason for the No Whistling policy had to do with the sheer fact that the warden had something against people being too jovial.

So instead if whistling, T-Bag settled for smiling. But not too broadly, because he wouldn't want to give anyone the wrong impression.

Well, there were a few women in Fox River he wouldn't mind having a gander at his pearly whites.

And none of them lived in Ward B.

No, T-Bag's new favorite fish was in Ward A, and what a pretty little fish she was. All blonde hair and a fierce attitude. It was lucky for her that he liked them feisty

He did wonder how much longer it would take before she was in Ward B like her momma. He followed the prison gossip just like anyone else, and he knew that one Miss Chloe Sullivan was the off-spring of Ms. Sarah Donovan. And he knew that Ms. Donovan was as crazy as a bedbug. Therefore, Miss Chloe would soon be joining the ranks of the drooling masses.

He would be lying to himself if he didn't admit that he was truly looking forward to that day. Right now, the pretty fish was protected by being in Ward A, but when she came to his territory, she would be all his for the taking.

Despite his best efforts, his mind instantly conjured up a vision of how the pretty little blonde girl looked when she was first brought in: tied in a straight-jacket and soaking wet. That image would forever be burned into his brain.

He took several deep breaths to calm himself down. Now was not the time or the place to be thinking these thoughts. He had to keep a clear head when he was distributing everyone's meds, and he could not get distracted.

A prisoner taking advantage of his momentary lapse in concentration was all he needed.

He waited a moment for his mind to clear of all non-medication images, and then he nodded to himself, assured that he had himself under control again.

He looked down at his list, and almost groaned out loud. Ms Sarah Donovan was next on his list.

It was alright, he could hand the woman her pills. He would just have to be careful not to mention her daughter.

Or what he would like to do with her.

He grimaced slightly as he placed his key in the lock. He would have to give himself a strict talking to when he got back home, and the topic would be inappropriate thoughts in the workplace.

He had just started to turn the lock over when he could have sworn he heard voices, coming from the locked cell.

He stopped, and placed his ear close to the door and listened hard.

There _were_ two voices. He grabbed his radio from his belt, and signaled that there was a problem in Ward B. Miss Tancredi, the head nurse, started to ask him what the problem was when the voices stopped.

Now that was curious.

T-Bag very carefully placed his radio back on his belt, and turned the lock.

He swung the cell door open, and peered in cautiously.

But all he could see was Ms. Donovan sitting on her bed.

Keeping his eyes trained on her, he walked slowly into the room, and glanced around.

There didn't appear to be anything amiss.

And all the while, Sarah just continued to sit. She didn't make any sudden movements or try to lunge at him.

All was as it should be.

He released the breath that he hadn't realized he had been holding in, and looked at the woman on the bed.

He smiled gently, and cooed softly at her. "Now, Ms. Donovan, it's time for your pills."

He turned back toward his cart, and saw a movement out of the corner of his eye.

Too late he realized that the grate on Ms. Donovan's vent had been crooked.

Before he could even yell, Chloe Sullivan hit him over the head, and he lost consciousness.


	15. Chapter 15

Ch 15

In the months that it had taken Chloe to plan the escape, she had never once thought that she wouldn't succeed. Her thoughts always centered on what would happen after she got her mom out of Fox River. The idea of failure never entered her mind, and it was always "when" the escape happened, and not "if."

But Chloe now had her own arrogance thrown back in her face, because she and her mother were both currently sitting in Dr. Bellick's office, and they were both tied into straightjackets.

She closed her eyes, and tried to keep the tears back. They had just needed five more minutes. Goddamnit, they had been so close!

_Chloe and Sarah rounded the hallway that lead to the kitchens, both women running as fast they could. Around them the alarms blared, but they were so intent on their goal they barely heard them. _

They could hear the guards shouting at them, but unlike the alarm, they were not so easy to ignore.

Chloe could see that her mom was starting to slow down, so she yelled out at her: "Mom, look! We're almost there!"

Sarah saw the double doors of the kitchen and a renewed determination replaced the distracted look.

Chloe smiled grimly to herself, because thinking about failing in the escape was not an option at this point. Their only priority was to get to the kitchen so that they could get to the sewer pipe.

And then freedom.

The kitchen doors were right in front of them, and Chloe put on a sudden burst of speed, and when she was in front of the entrance to the kitchen, she turned to look back at her mom.

Sarah was about twenty feet from Chloe, but she had five guards following right on her heels.

_Chloe opened her mouth to yell a warning when the one guard caught up to Sarah and wrestled her to the ground._

Chloe's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the office door open. She looked up, and tried to keep her face impassive when Dr. Bellick walked into the room with T-Bag and Miss Tancredi.

Chloe glanced at the door, and waited for the warden or at least another prison official, but no one else followed the hospital staff in.

Her confusion must have shown on her face, because T-Bag grinned unpleasantly at her before he asked, "Who're you looking for, Fish?"

"The warden, actually," Chloe answered calmly.

T-Bag laughed out-loud when he heard this, and Chloe's baffled expression caused him even more mirth. He was finally able to pull himself together enough to chortle out. "He's on a three-week vacation, so you're just stuck with us."

Sarah quickly cut in to explain what she could. "When the warden is away, Dr. Bellick's completely in charge. And she has the warden's full permission to deal with the prisoners as she sees fit."

When Chloe heard those words, she didn't even try to hide the sense of hopelessness that filled her. According to the research she had done, a prison official was required to be at Fox River 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and the hospital staff was not to have sole discretion in dealing with any of the prisoners.

It really shouldn't have surprised her that none of the rules that applied to other hospitals for the criminally insane applied to Fox River.

T-Bag had been watching Chloe's face avidly, and when he saw her reaction to her mother's words, he let out another loud whoop of laughter. Oh yes, this day was getting better and better. True, he had been conked on the head, but he now had the opportunity for a little payback in the form of a taunt.

Leaning in carefully, he gauged her expression and delighted in the look of disgust that crossed her face at how near he was to her. He deliberately paused, and then whispered into her ear: "Oh, did the pretty little fish think she was about to get rescued?"

Chloe refused to answer, and instead glared back at the orderly.

T-Bag grinned maliciously back at her, but before he could formulate an appropriate response, Miss Tancredi interrupted.

"Dr. Bellick, we do need to report this escape attempt to the Department of Corrections. They will need to start an investigation into how this prisoner was able to gain access to another cell."

Chloe held her breath when she heard what the nurse had said. Their bringing in an outside prison official might be the only thing that kept her and her mom unharmed until they could get out. She silently thanked God that there was at least one person in this place who was trying to follow the protocol that the state mandated.

Dr. Bellick nodded thoughtfully as she listened to her nurse talk, but in reality, she only half-listened.

Instead, she carefully studied Chloe Sullivan.

She had been fooled by Chloe's calm and nonviolent presence in Ward A, but it would seem that she had underestimated the young woman's ability.

Dr. Bellick had thought that Chloe was an unfortunate young woman who was cursed to follow her mother in being mentally ill. And then she had dismissed the daughter from her mind, and chose to focus on the mother.

That was obviously a mistake, and one she was going to rectify.

Dr. Bellick smoothly interrupted Miss Tancredi in mid-sentence. "While I agree that the prison authorities need to be notified, that can take place in the morning. I would like an opportunity to question these inmates myself."

Miss Tancredi was momentarily startled, but she quickly came out of her daze. "Of course, Dr. Bellick, whatever you think is best."

Whatever hope Chloe had of getting away from T-Bag were dashed by the nurse's words. She had a feeling that this was not going to end well for her or her mom.

Lex sat in the back of his stretch limousine that had been parked on Fitz Street for the better part of two hours.

He had a weird, jittery feeling in the pit of his stomach when Chloe failed to appear at the designated time.

The jittery feeling became full blown nausea when he heard the alarms go off in the prison.

But the alarms stopped not soon afterward, and instead of making his feel better, his fear increased ten fold.

He didn't want to admit it to himself, but he was forced to come to a rather horrifying conclusion.

Chloe and her mom weren't able to escape, because something must have happened to thwart her plan.

So, he would just have to go in and get Chloe out himself.

That being settled, Lex pulled out his cell phone, and started to make some calls.


	16. Chapter 16

Ch 16

It had been surprisingly easy to obtain the transfer order.

Lex had made a few calls, one most notably to Judge Ross in Topeka, and the next thing he knew, Chloe Sullivan and Sarah Donovan were wanted for questioning by the FBI. The official paperwork listed them as "persons of interest" which was vague enough to arouse suspicions, and get the extradition papers filed in a timely manner, but not specific enough to where actual proof had to be shown.

The Kansas Department of Corrections had predictably balked at the lateness of the transfer request, but when the words "Patriot Act" were muttered, they had quieted down.

Never let it be said that the state of Kansas was not behind the war on terror.

So now Lex stood outside of the gates of Fox River, with two armed Federal agents, two Metropolis uniformed cops, and six of his own security force. The Feds had tried to strong-arm Lex from being there, but he made it clear that he had no intention of leaving until Chloe and her mom had left the prison, and were in Federal custody.

He breathed a silent prayer that this nightmare would be over tonight.

"T-Bag, I want you to remove their straightjackets."

T-Bag had been leaning against Dr. Bellick's desk, and staring at Chloe with open delight. He was excited at the prospect of time alone with the pretty little fish, especially while she was tied into a straightjacket.

At the doctor's words, T-Bag's face fell.

"But Doc, are you sure you want to do that? I mean, we still don't know how these two managed to get out of their cells."

Dr. Bellick smiled at T-Bag's obvious disappointment, and nodded her head with certainty. "Yes I'm sure. You know how I can't stand to see prisoners in those things."

After Miss Tancredi reluctantly left Dr. Bellick's office, Chloe had sat in silence. She kept going over how the plan had failed, and how she had let her mother down. She had been so deep in her thoughts that she's missed T-Bag's practically salivating in his lap at the sight of her tied up.

But at hearing Bellick's words, Chloe snorted derisively, and shook her head in disbelief. "You two are a real couple of winners, aren't you?"

She craned her neck to look at T-Bag. "Just to let you know, I'm going to see to it that you rot in jail for all of the people you've killed."

Chloe then directed her gaze at Dr. Bellick. "In fact, I'm going to see to it that you both get put away."

She paused to make sure that Bellick was listening to every word she said. "You do realize that he's been killing prisoners don't you? Women that were in your care? Patients that you were responsible for?"

Chloe waited a moment for the doctor's reaction, but she shook her head again at Bellick's blank look. "Their deaths don't mean anything to you, do they?"

T-Bag had been untying Chloe, but when he heard the ugly accusations being made against the doctor, he couldn't listen to another word. He suddenly grabbed a handful of Chloe's hair and yanked her head backwards.

Chloe cried out at the pain, and T-Bag smiled with grim satisfaction. "That's right girlie, cry all you want! You can threaten me until the cows come home, but nobody talks to the doc that a way!"

Dr. Bellick reached out and loosened T-Bag s grip on Chloe's hair. "Now, none of that. Chloe is just reacting to the situation and lashing out. She's worried for her mother and herself, so she is attacking the only authority figure in the room."

Chloe could feel her anger rising, and she tried her best to contain her reaction, but she couldn't seem to stop herself from laughing sarcastically. "You have got to be kidding me. After all of this, you're now going to try and analyze me?"

Bellick held up her hand to stop T-Bag, who had taken a step towards Chloe. "Untie Sarah now T-Bag."

For a second Chloe thought that T-Bag was going to disobey Bellick, but he lowered his head, and walked towards Sarah. But just before her turned to loosen her mom's straightjacket, T-Bag had looked up and glared at Chloe, promising to make good on all of his personal fantasies.

Even after everything, this made Chloe angrier. She was not about to be cowed, either by the doctor or her sidekick. And she was certainly not going to let this perverted psychopath see that she was scared, so Chloe sat straight in her chair, and glared right back at him, promising to make good on her own set of threats.

Bellick interrupted the silent showdown, by walking between T-Bag and Chloe, and sparing a pitying glance in Chloe's direction. "Now, T-Bag, we must show mercy and compassion. The poor thing has really been put through the ringer. It's no wonder she snapped."

At those words, Chloe's and Sarah's heads both snapped up. They exchanged a quick look, and then Chloe spoke up. "What do you mean I snapped?"

Dr. Bellick took a seat at her desk as she faced the mother and daughter. She stared at a file on her desk while she spoke. "No one was surprised at your second suicide attempt. In the weeks since your arrival at Fox River, you had been a belligerent, defiant, and violent prisoner. A day hasn't gone by that you haven't fought with the other patients, the nurses and the orderlies. In fact, on one occasion, you smuggled a butter knife into your cell from the cafeteria. You were found to be sharpening it to use as a weapon. That stunt got you three days in the hole."

Bellick looked up from Chloe's file. "You did not react favorably to solitary confinement. And sadly, you were refusing to come to terms with your own mental illness."

Dr. Bellick finally stopped reading to look right at Chloe. "Unfortunately for all involved, your second suicide attempt proved to be successful."

Chloe had been shocked into silence at listening to Bellick's lies, but after hearing about her own impending demise, she found her voice again. "That will never work. My family and friends would never believe that I committed suicide."

Bellick's smiled coldly in response. "You've been incarcerated in a hospital for the criminally insane. The public will believe anything I tell them about you and your behavior in this place."

Sarah had been silent for all of Dr. Bellick's speech, but upon hearing the threat of Chloe's death, she spoke up. With a calmness that chilled everyone in the room, Sarah said, "You touch one hair on my daughter's head, and I will kill you with my bare heads."

T-Bag paled, but still managed to keep his composure, because for all of his bravura, he was a coward at heart, who enjoyed bullying people weaker then himself. Threats to his own personal safety were to be avoided at all costs.

Beside him. Dr, Bellick smiled and turned to Chloe expectantly. "Do you see how violent your mother is? Do you really think she should be left out in society? You do know what happened the last time she got out right? And what you have to look forward to?"

When asked about it later, Chloe would swear that she literally saw red when Bellick had callously thrown her own impending mental illness in her face.

And seeing her mother flinch at Bellick's words took whatever remaining restraint Chloe had and threw it out the window.

Without a thought to her safety, Chloe leaped to her feet and got into Bellick's face. "I know my mom needs psychiatric help, you stupid bitch! I want her in another facility, AWAY FROM YOU!"

And before either T-Bag or Bellick could stop her, Chloe's fist snapped out, and she punched Bellick right in the nose. Blood started to spurt out, and Bellick stood stock still before shrieking at T-Bag to stop Chloe.

T-Bag did not need to be told twice. But by the time he rounded the desk, and had his blackjack in his hand, Chloe was crouched down and ready to attack. He had started to swing his night stick, when Chloe took him by surprise by launching herself at him, with her fists and elbows flying.

Bellick's eyes were fastened on T-Bag and Chloe's fighting, so she didn't see Sarah's pulling the fire alarm until the bells started ringing.

She instantly whirled around and screamed at Sarah, "What have you done?"

Sarah didn't have a chance to answer, because within seconds of the alarm being pulled, the prisons' correctional officers, and orderlies, filled the office.

Bellick closed her eyes in resignation when she heard, "FBI! Put your hands where I can see them!"


	17. Chapter 17

A/N: This is the final chapter--for everyone who has stuck with me through this story--Thanks!

Ch 17

It had been nearly six weeks since Chloe and Sarah were taken out of Fox River and placed in Federal custody.

By the time the Feds, Metropolis Police and Fire, and prison orderlies had control in Dr. Bellick's office, T-Bag was a mass of bruises. He had two black eyes, a split lip and a busted nose. Dr. Bellick also had a bloody nose, and Chloe ended up with bruised knuckles and a sprained wrist from all of the punching she had done.

Once everything quieted down, Lex wanted nothing more then to have the land that Fox River stood on declared Imminent Domain, so that he could have the pleasure of seeing the place bull dozed to the ground.

Instead, the Kansas Department of Corrections stepped in and shut the prison hospital down, and all of the prisoners were transferred to the psych ward at Metropolis University Hospital, pending an investigation into the mysterious deaths that were allegedly done by prison officials.

To the DOC's credit, T-Bag and Bellick were also taken into custody despite the doctor's demanding that they call the warden to straighten everyone out. The warden was contacted and he agreed to turn over any information he found to the state, and the state would also be conducting their own inquiry.

Chloe was looking forward to watching the prison system hang Bellick and T-Bag out to dry.

But that had to wait, because first, Chloe and Sarah had to be taken in by the FBI for questioning as "persons of interest."

When she heard that, Chloe pulled Lex aside, aghast that she and her mom were being considered terrorist, but Lex quickly assured her that it was all a ploy to get them both transferred out of Fox River faster.

By the next morning, Chloe had petitioned for a hearing to be released from the psychiatric hospital, and she was seen in front of a judge within 24 hours, where she was subsequently cleared of all criminal charges, and released back into society.

Chloe knew that she also had Lex's influence to thanks for the speed in which her court appearance happened, and how quickly her mom was placed in a new psychiatric facility.

Sarah was now living in Bryn Gwellyn, and while it was clearly a prison hospital for the criminally insane, the building itself was clean and bright and full of light, and the doctors were fully committed to helping the prisoners receive the best psychiatric care they could.

And most importantly,. people weren't being killed left and right.

Chloe was able to visit her mother twice a week, and she was amazed at how much better Sarah looked. She smiled more and looked hopeful, not because she wanted to get released--Sarah knew that she was not well enough to live on the outside, but that she could now have a relationship with her daughter.

It was during one of these visits that Sarah had asked about Gabe. She hadn't asked straight out if Gabe would come to visit her, but Chloe guessed that's what she wanted, so, on the next visiting day, Gabe, accompanied by his daughter, walked in to find his former wife waiting anxiously to see him.

He made a concentrated effort to hide his shock, but it depressed him to see his once vibrant wife reduced to a shadow of herself by her mental illness. And once again his fears for Chloe overwhelmed him, and all he could think of was. 'Is that what will happen to her one day?'

Some of his worry must have shown on his because Chloe reached for his hand, and Gabe held on as tight as he could. All three Sullivans simply looked at each other, until Chloe finally broke the silence. "Dad, I know I put you through a lot this past month.."

Gabe interrupted "Try for the past 20 years."

Chloe rolled her eyes, while Sarah stifled her own laugh. "Fine. I know that I've put you through a lot my entire life, but I'm not going to sit around waiting for disaster to strike. I'm going to live my life as well as I can, and I'm not going to worry about this."

At the word "this", Chloe waved her free hand vaguely around the prison. "I might not ever become mentally ill, and if I did, the doctors may have found a new way of dealing with it. Or at least have invented a better drug combination"

Her mom smiled sadly. "I sure hope so, Chloe-bug, because I'd hate to see you in here for real."

Her dad grinned at Chloe's old nickname, and inclined his head towards the outside doors to the hospital. "And if Lex Luthor has anything to say about it, I'm sure they will."

Sarah looked towards the windows and saw Lex's familiar bald head. "He's such a nice young man." She lowered her voice and Chloe had to lean forward to hear her mom's question., "Does he know how grateful I am for his help? Would you please make sure he knows, because I think he saved our lives."

Chloe smiled reassuringly at Sarah's worried face. "He knows Mom, believe me. You tell him how grateful you are every time you see him, and he has the ceramic "Thank You" ashtray you made for him sitting on his desk. Frankly, I think he's a bit embarrassed at your gratitude."

When her mom still looked unsure, Chloe thought about a way to ease Sarah's concerns. Not able to think of anything suitable, Chloe finally just blurted out with: "How about this Mom? I promise that I won't just tell Lex how grateful we are for getting us out of Fox River alive, I'll **show** him too. How about that?"

Upon hearing those words, Gabe answered in an even tone, "No, Chloe, I think your mom's ashtray says it best. Why don't you leave it at that?"

As soon as the words had come out of her mouth, Chloe had known that she said the wrong thing. And all it took was one look at her dad's tense facial expression to reconfirm that for her. She squeezed his hand, the hand that wasn't clenched in a fist that is, and tried for a joking manner: "Oh man, I didn't mean it like that! I was just going to give him a hug."

Gabe didn't look too comforted by that information. "How about a hearty hand shake instead?"

When Chloe's only response was an exasperated, "DAD!!", Sarah stepped into the fray. "Now Chloe, your dad's just fulfilling his role of "overprotective father". He'll never think any man's good enough for you."

And here Sarah paused to wink at Chloe. "Even if the man in question is a devilishly handsome billionaire with noble tendencies who is clearly fond of you."

At those words, Gabe covered his face with his now unclenched hand. "So it's two against one is it?" When Chloe and Sarah just smiled in response, Gabe shook his head.

Sarah was about to speak again when Chloe stopped her. "How many times do I have to go over this with everyone? First Lois and Clark, and now you guys. For the last time, there is nothing for either of you to worry about. Lex and I have finally got our friendship back on track, and we aren't going to be adding any romance to it."

But neither of her parents were paying attention to her, because Gabe and Sarah's attention were drawn to watching Lex walk into the waiting room, carrying a bouquet of tulips.

Chloe turned to see what had distracted them, and smiled when she saw the man himself. She barely heard her dad say to her mom, "Nothing going on? I suppose that's why he keeps bringing her gifts. First it was a box of dark chocolates, then it was free coffee from the Talon for a year, and now he's bringing her flowers. Next thing you know he'll be asking her to marry him!"

She was so focused on Lex's approach that she didn't even register Sarah shushing Gabe and pushing him to sit at another table. Chloe was too busy noticing just how gray Lex's eyes were and that his smile made her stomach flutter nervously.

She tried to valiantly push these thought away, but after their reconciliation in Fox River, they had become a common occurrence whenever she saw him. She attempted to get a grip on her emotions, but that all went to hell when he stood in front o her, holding out the flowers to her.

Trying not to smile bashfully, Chloe took them, and quietly thanked him. He nodded his acceptance, and then they sat silently next to each other..

Lex was prepared to wait her out, but she surprised him by blurting out, "She wanted to make sure you know." When Lex's only response was to raise a single eyebrow, Chloe realized that she sounded like a moron, so she rushed on to clarify herself.. "My mother. she wants to make sure you know how grateful she is for helping us."

Lex merely shook his head. "You saved your lives, Chloe. I just helped out."

Not wanting them to lapse into a weird silence again, Lex quickly brought up Bellick and T-Bag. "There isn't going to be a trial because they both pleaded guilty. Apparently, the warden found Bellick's private files that recorded all of the deaths over the last ten years."

Chloe shook her head, "I wish I could say that I was surprised, but nothing about this case shocks me. At least their going to pay for what they did."

Chloe paused to look at her mom. "And my mom's still alive. When I first came up with this plan, the only thing I wanted was for my mom to be safe. I didn't do any of this to get to the bottom of the deaths, that was just a happy coincidence."

She paused again, and Lex was amazed to see tears in her eyes. "Do you think that makes me a selfish person? That I'm only concerned for my mother? I mean, I don't even care why they did it. I'm just glad that we got out alive."

Without even stopping to think, Lex wrapped his arm around Chloe's shoulder and pulled her into a hug. He held her as she cried, whispering comforting, nonsensical words to sooth her. Her tears finally stopped, and with his arm still around her, he wordlessly handed her his handkerchief.

She smiled gratefully when she saw it and he gave her a minute to gather herself together. Then he leaned forward, and cupped Chloe's face in his hands. She had never seen him with such a serious look on his face. "Chloe, you are the bravest person I know, and the fact that you risked your own life to help your mom is the most selfless act I have ever had the privilege of witnessing."

Chloe could feel her eyes tear up again, but she managed to stave off another crying jag by taking several deep breaths. When she felt as though she had herself under control again, she smiled her thanks.

Lex again nodded in return, and he appeared to be deep in thought. "You know, I don't think it actually matters why they were killing people. For all we know, T-Bag could have been in love with all the women, or Bellick was angry that they weren't getting any better. All that matters is that they won't be able to hurt anyone else ever again."

He watched her expression clear as she considered his words. He loosened his grip on her face, and brushed his fingertips across her cheeks, and when he was rewarded with a blush, he grinned, and pulled Chloe into his side, resting his arm around her shoulder again. She relaxed against him, and sighed contentedly.

Across the way, Chloe's parents watched the young couple.

Without taking his eyes off Chloe and Lex, Gabe asked Sarah. "I'm going to have to accept this, aren't I?"

Sarah glanced over at the couple, and simply nodded her head.

This time Gabe sighed in defeat, "That's what I thought."

The End

2nd A/N: I know this was a strange ending, but it felt right for this story. Please tell me what you thought!


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